


when it feels so good, but it's bad for you (can't say I don't want it 'cause I know I do);

by hizzie



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, also alaric is dead and stefan is their dad now bye!, and mg/kym, hope & alyssa are dating for a second too lmaoo, lizzie is bffs with kaleb & mg and kaleb is a significant character in this bc he deserves it <3, mentions of jaleb, obviously bc............ this is the to all the boys i've loved before au huns <3, there's mentions of other ships w lizzie but nothing besides hizzie is endgame.......
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:35:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 28,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29342928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hizzie/pseuds/hizzie
Summary: Lizzie wasn’t a stranger to harboring crushes on people. Far from it - it was very common for Lizzie to find her affections set on someone for a while. She often didn’t approach them - no, she liked to deal with her crushes in the same way that she dealt with most things in her life: she wrote them a letter and never sent them.There were five love letters total.1. Rafael from Camp.2. Hope from 7th grade.3. Jed from Homecoming.4. MG from Model UN.5. And… Sebastian, her ex-boyfriend.And she’d kept those letters because Lizzie likes the reminder of how powerful her emotions can be, how consuming. People would tell her she’s being dramatic; she actually thinks drama can be fun.As long as no-one else knew about it.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson & Lizzie Saltzman, Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 24
Kudos: 87





	1. everything is embarrassing.

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi hi!! this is gonna b my first multichap fic in this fandom and i'm posting part 1 because then that'll light up a fire in my ass so i can write regularly lmao
> 
> basically this fic follows the movie & the book (only the first one tho), but there's some tweaks here and there so it would fit hope/lizzie. also, some might think its weird that i chose kaleb and lizzie to be so close but i just think that theyre neat <3 love mean bisexuals sticking together xx  
> also yes i'm manifesting that pedro is bonnie's son again and WHAT
> 
> anyways, i did not proofread this after i did a revision of the grammar so any mistakes u find here theyre my fault and no you didnt!
> 
> hope u guys like this!

Lizzie wouldn’t call herself a romantic. 

No, not a romantic; dramatic, maybe. But maybe she’s just kidding herself, and maybe a romantic is really what you would call someone who enjoys writing love letters that they’ll never send.

It’d all started when she was a pre-teen and in her second round of psychological therapy - there was always too much to be felt, too much to be said, and sometimes Lizzie felt like she would explode if there was no outlet - which happened often. Her family had started to refer to them as “episodes”. Her therapist had told her that whenever she felt like there were too many words and feelings to be dealt with, she should try writing them down and reading them back to remind herself of how powerful her thoughts and feelings could be - how all consuming. At eleven years old, Lizzie hadn’t really fully grasped the whole meaning of it - but had done it anyway. And now, at seventeen, it’d become a habit. She’d write anything and everything - letters, journal passages, notes and sidenotes. She’d read a lot, too. 

Sometimes, when she couldn’t come up with the right words, someone else could, and that was always a comforting thought to Lizzie. 

And yeah, maybe her letters sometimes were love letters. Lizzie wasn’t a stranger to harboring crushes on people. Far from it - it was very common for Lizzie to find her affections set on someone for a while. She often didn’t approach them - no, she liked to deal with her crushes in the same way that she dealt with most things in her life: she wrote them a letter and never sent them.

There were five love letters total.

  1. Rafael from Camp. 
  2. Hope from 7th grade.
  3. Jed from Homecoming.
  4. MG from Model UN.
  5. And… Sebastian, her ex-boyfriend.



She hadn’t sent the letter to Sebastian; the boy had approached Lizzie all on his own, about a year ago. Lizzie had never been in a relationship with anyone, and Sebastian was… well,  _ Sebastian _ .

He had a charming smile, a beautiful face and he had a way of feeling like Lizzie was the only person in the room — Lizzie had been immediately taken by him. All of her time was spent with him, and if she wasn’t with him, she was thinking of him. And it was fine, for a while.

But then, things changed. Sebastian had started to change his behavior around her — his hands would become rough when holding her, he would say things that would hurt Lizzie’s feelings, and… well. One day, he’d called her the wrong name. 

Sebastian had been many of Lizzie’s firsts — and that included first heartbreak. 

And she’d kept those letters because Lizzie likes the reminder of how powerful her emotions can be, how consuming. People would tell her she’s being dramatic; she actually thinks drama can be fun. 

As long as no-one else knew about it.

* * *

“Have you checked if you packed everything you’ll need for the trip?” Her step-dad asks once they’re all sat around the table for their last complete family-dinner for a while. 

“Three times,” Her mom nods once, and Stefan smiles. 

“Did you forget who you’re married to?” Aunt Bonnie chuckles, helping her son, Pedro, cut his food. Stefan and Caroline chuckle and the twins smile at their parents.

“I can’t believe we’re not going to see you ‘til Thanksgiving.” Josie says, her tone a little sad. Caroline gives her a small smile.

“Actually, until Christmas,” She corrects softly, and Josie and Lizzie look up at her at that, “Scotland’s too far to come back for Thanksgiving and then come back in December. It makes more sense to wait and spend the winter break here with you guys.”

“Yeah, I guess it does,” Josie nods once, sounding upset.

Lizzie pouts, “Doesn’t mean we won’t still miss you, though.” 

“And I’ll miss you,  _ so much _ .” Caroline responds quickly, her smile turning a little sad, and the twins and their mom share a look that’s only interrupted by Stefan.

“But on a brighter note — with your mom away, Lizzie, you get to drive the car and Josie gets to practice driving.”

Lizzie sighs loudly and Josie groans. 

“I forgot I had to take rides with the twins driving, now.” Pedro says, tone defeated, and Josie and Lizzie glare at him.

“Feel free to take the bus,” Lizzie rebuts, tone sweet as sugar, and before Pedro can say anything, Bonnie speaks up for the first time in a minute.

“I wish I could give you guys a ride, but I leave for work an hour before you guys even  _ think  _ to wake up and we all know how Pedro feels about it.” She says the last part in a teasing tone as she squeezes one of his cheeks. 

The twins watch the scene with a smile, and before any of them could respond, Pedro speaks up as he battles his mother’s hand away from his face. “ _ Or _ I could drive the car, and if we get pulled over, we’ll switch places real quick.”

The twins roll their eyes at the younger boy they’ve come to consider a younger sibling, as he was always around with his mother, as Bonnie and Caroline have been childhood best friends and the bond between them had never diminished with the time. 

“That’s a wonderful idea, Pedro,” Stefan says with a teasing smile being sent towards the twins.

Pedro grins brightly at him and Caroline shakes her head, “Leave the girls alone, it’s not their fault they’re terrible drivers and Lizzie drives like a true maniac.”

The girls widen her eyes while the others laugh, “Mom!”

“I’m sorry, girls, but I’m just being honest,” The blonde woman winks, “And besides, Stefan is right. With me leaving the car here, you can use it to practice driving at a normal speed and Josie can definitely  _ begin  _ to think to get her own license. Prove us wrong!”

“I  _ have  _ a license —”

“No, Josie, you don’t. You know you don’t. I don’t know how long you think you’re going to be able to keep up this lie considering I, your mother, am an investigative reporter and know really well how you’ve skipped your lessons.” Caroline says in an easy tone, which makes it all the more threatening.

“Told you she’d know.” Lizzie mutters to her sister and Josie frowns. 

“Okay, well —” She starts, but then trails off when Caroline raises an eyebrow to her. “ _ Fine _ .”

“You guys suck, by the way, and I hope we crash your car.” Lizzie states after a moment as she takes her fork with food towards her mouth, making everyone at the table, minus Josie, laugh. 

* * *

On the car ride back from the airport the next day, after they’d said their goodbyes to Caroline and watched as the woman got into the plane and watched the plane take off, Bonnie and Stefan are talking about one thing or another while Pedro sits between the twins in the backseat and they’re just enjoying each other’s company in silence until the younger boy speaks up.

“Hey, mommy, Uncle Stefan, could we stop at McDonalds?” 

Stefan and Bonnie share a look and Bonnie smiles at her son from the passenger seat as Stefan speaks up, “Great idea, little man.”

Pedro smiles brightly and then he looks at his mom, “And can we get a dog, mommy?”

“Still no,” Bonnie smiles, “But nice try.”

* * *

The following Monday morning finds the twins and Pedro standing before Stefan, small boards with Grade 12 in each of the twins’ hands and Grade 6 in Pedro’s, the boy grinning widely in a way only an eleven year old would when asked to pose for the camera, much like Josie’s, if she were honest, and Lizzie has a more held back smile, only barely showing her teeth as she truly thought these pictures were slightly humiliating. Stefan smiles softly at the picture once it’s taken, no doubt setting up to text it to their mothers — Lizzie was certain that this had been a request from Caroline and Bonnie — and Lizzie turns to the two brunettes. 

“You guys ready to go?”

“Oh, one sec,” Josie says, handing Lizzie her board and running back towards the house. Lizzie takes Pedro’s as well and hands the boards back to her father.

“Alright, now I have to go,” Stefan says, his tone almost nervous as he looks from the little boy to Lizzie, “Please, drive safe. And have a good day.”

Lizzie knows that Stefan is worried about the twins’ very first day without their mother here to send them off — he’d always been present, but this is the first time that Caroline has missed a big day for the girls since they got married a few years ago and Stefan had adopted the girls as his own. And, to be fair, Lizzie knows that she, herself, is a bit nervous, and she knows that Josie is, as well, even though she hasn’t said anything. Lizzie just knows, just like Josie knows.

But, she thinks that Stefan worries too much about things that he cannot change, and she knows that he, himself, is missing her mom, so she tries her best to give him the best smile she could possibly muster to try and ease his concerns a little — and her mom’s, since she knows that Stefan will call her as soon as he leaves to relay their morning. “Thanks. You too, dad.”

“I’ll see you later, okay? Call me if you need anything. I love you, guys.” 

“We love you too, Uncle Stefan.” Pedro says before Lizzie can respond, and Stefan chuckles down at the little boy before he turns to wave back at the house. And the moment he turns to leave and get in his car is the moment that she hears Josie running back towards them, and the blonde turns around only to roll her eyes once she sees the light blue and the red helmets on each of the brunette’s hands. 

“Hilarious, Josette.” She deadpans. 

“Necessary, actually.” Josie responds seriously as she helps Pedro with the red helmet and then adjusts the blue one to her own head. 

Lizzie sighs and rolls her eyes and starts making her way towards the car she was meant to be driving for the duration of her mother’s trip aboard for work.

* * *

So. Here’s the thing.

Lizzie hadn’t actually seen or talked much to Sebastian since they had broken up; in fact, she’s proud to say that she’d managed to spend an entire month avoiding the boy. But, when she sees him by his locker almost as soon as she gets to school and says goodbye to Josie as her twin runs up to talk to her cheerleading coach, she doesn’t really know how she should act. 

How does one act around your ex-boyfriend that you’ve been definitely been avoiding for the better half of the summer, and, well, how does one really act when the person you’ve definitely blocked across social media and avoided like the plague every time he came around your to talk to you because he doesn’t know what boundaries are? Lizzie definitely doesn’t know.

So, holding her breath, she passes by Sebastian and tries her damned hardest not to even glance his way, and she lets out a relieved breath when she manages to make it past him without acknowledging him.

And she’s so relieved, really, that she doesn’t see where she’s going until her body completely slams against something — well, some _ one _ . 

“Ow!” A voice exclaims, a female voice, and Lizzie winces internally - and outwardly - when she recognizes the voice.

_ Just her fucking luck. _

“Oh, Alyssa. Sorry.” 

“Watch where you’re going.” Alyssa says, her tone bordering on aggression as she turns to look at the taller girl with a glare.

“Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” Lizzie says, trying to mask the annoyance in her own voice, and she sighs when Alyssa rolls her eyes. 

“ _ Clearly _ .”

And, well. One thing you should know about Alyssa Chang. 

Lizzie and her used to be best friends once upon a time. Lizzie’s not completely sure what had caused them to drift apart after middle-school; but now, well. Any traces of friendliness between the two admittedly usually unfriendly girls were left in the past, and Lizzie can’t imagine it making a comeback anytime soon.

“Cute boots,” Alyssa says after a quick glance at the blonde’s outfit, “Thank you so much for your service.” 

Lizzie raises one eyebrow, “They’re designer, not that  _ you  _ know anything about it with your last season shoes.”

“And they’re also amazing,” Says a voice behind Lizzie, and she turns around with a smile as Kaleb approaches them with a small smirk on his face and wraps his arms around Lizzie’s shoulder, “Not everybody can pull ‘em off, but you know Lizzie is doin’ it.” 

The blonde smiles at her friend and they both turn to a scowling Alyssa. Kaleb does her a quick once over and continues, “But… let’s just say those boots are outdated for a reason, Alyssa. Because they’re  _ Uggs _ . And that’s fine too. Not all of us can be fashion oriented.”

Lizzie chuckles and Alyssa rolls her eyes. 

Kaleb had been Alyssa’s friend, too, once upon a time, but he was now her best friend, alongside her twin and MG. Alyssa had been the one to introduce Kaleb and MG to the twins, and they used to be friends — all five of them. But when Alyssa had grown apart from them because of her new crowd, the boys had grown closer to the twins and somewhat distanced themselves from Alyssa. They still liked the girl, but Kaleb and MG had a clear distaste for the way Alyssa had started to treat the twins, Lizzie in particular. If there was one thing Lizzie could use to describe the two boys, was that they were fiercely loyal to their friendship, and she could only hope that she honored that. 

Josie, on the other hand, sometimes chided the boys — but mostly Kaleb — for it, saying they shouldn’t be picking sides, but they would only shrug and say that it’s not like Alyssa was even that fond of them like that anymore. 

“You know what, Kaleb? Fuck you, because you know my feet are always cold and excuse me for not being brave enough to look like a fucking swagged out nerd on the first day of senior year.” Alyssa snaps back, and Kaleb laughs, thoroughly pleased that he’s managed to get under her skin with just one comment.

“You’re completely right, it does take a lot of nerve to look so good,” Kaleb nods, dusting off his left shoulder. Lizzie studies his outfit for a second — the form fitting sweater paired with the pleated pants and the chain around his neck make him look very classy but still cool — the way Lizzie knew that Kaleb liked to be considered as. And not to mention the shoes he had on — the boots were almost a perfect match to Lizzie’s. The blonde chuckles when she notices it and Kaleb gives her a knowing wink. 

Alyssa rolls her eyes at his response and when she’s about to open her mouth to rebut, an auburn haired girl appears from behind her and wraps her arms around her, stopping before she could continue with her and Kaleb’s argument.

“Hey, babe.” 

“Oh!” Alyssa exclaims, a smile appearing on her face as she leans against Hope’s body, “Hi.”

“How you doing?” 

“Better now,” Alyssa’s tone is so completely different now that it causes Lizzie and Kaleb to gag at each other in reaction to it. The couple in front of them doesn’t seem to notice, as Alyssa continues, “What about you?” 

“Good,” Hope responds, and they both finally look back at the duo in front of them.

_ Hope Andrea Mikaelson _ .

The second non-recipient of one of Lizzie’s love letters. The same Hope.

Alyssa’s girlfriend, Hope.

Seventh grade Hope — Lizzie’s (and Josie’s) first real party. The one that boys were allowed in and the parents weren’t around the entire time. The kind of parties that you’d find kids sitting around in a circle and spinning a bottle.  _ Those _ parties.

And, well, everyone in that room had known that Alyssa wanted to kiss Hope. And everyone in the room had known, also, that Hope wouldn’t have been opposed. Lizzie had tried to spin the bottle again, she  _ had,  _ because Alyssa was her friend and Hope irritated her and she  _ knew  _ that Josie had a bit of a crush on the auburn haired girl, as well, and it was just not worth it, was it? 

But Hope had shrugged and given Lizzie her trademarked half smile and said, “You can’t cheat the bottle.”

And. Well. 

You remember how Lizzie had said that there was just…  _ something  _ that might have caused Alyssa to drift apart from them, and Lizzie, in particular? 

It probably,  _ maybe,  _ possibly was because Lizzie and Hope were each other’s first kiss, and Alyssa had been only a few steps away from them when it happened. Josie had been a bit weird for a while about it, too, but she’d quickly gotten over it. Alyssa apparently didn’t.

The blonde snaps her attention back to the couple before her when Alyssa speaks up again, “I was just complimenting Lizzie on her army-issued boots.” 

Kaleb and Lizzie share a look at that and Lizzie completely misses it when Hope gives her a once over. 

Alyssa apparently doesn’t, because soon enough she’s breaking apart from Hope’s hold and saying, “Come on, I see someone we need to say hi to. Toodles!” and walking away without really waiting for Hope to follow after her, as if assuming the other girl would’ve just done so.

“What…” Hope trails off quietly, watching her girlfriend walk away from her. She shakes her head and then turns to the two of them after a moment, “She just started this new diet and I think she’s just in sugar withdrawal or something.” 

Lizzie thinks that Hope looks apologetic, and she’s not exactly sure why. It’s not like the banter between them was anything new — it was basically routine.

“Are you sure she just doesn’t have a chemical imbalance? I mean, I would know,” Lizzie asks, raising an eyebrow and her tone turning almost teasing. She hears Kaleb chuckling beside her and Hope pauses for a second, and Lizzie thinks she’s deciding on whether she wants to defend her girlfriend or walk away. 

She seems to favor the last option, though, because she mutters a quiet “right” and begins to turn to follow after Alyssa. 

If Lizzie hadn’t been paying attention, she would’ve missed the way Hope’s blue eyes went towards her boots for a split second before she gave them a parting nod and walked away. 

Kaleb and Lizzie watch her for a moment before Lizzie turns to Kaleb. 

“Where’d you get the boots?” 

“Same store as you, obviously.” Then he gives her an once over, “You do look great, by the way. You know I wouldn’t let Alyssa get away with dissing your appearance on my watch.”

“What a gentleman,” Lizzie teases, and Kaleb shakes his head.

“Please, you’re gonna ruin the whole vibe I have going on,” And then, “Speaking of. Do I really look like a swagged out nerd?”

“Kinda,” Lizzie laughs, “But… in like a hot way.”

Kaleb hums for a second as he looks down at his own clothes and nods, “Alright. I can work with that. As long as I’m hot, right?”

Lizzie rolls her eyes and smiles at her friend as she begins to pull him towards her locker. 

* * *

“The school cafeteria is huge,” Pedro says to them as they make their way towards the car after school, “James wanted to sit next to me at lunch, but so did Charlie and Katy. So I ended up having to rotate so everyone had time to sit next to me, you know?”

Lizzie and Josie share a look, thinking back about how they’d spent their lunch time, and all of their other lunch times before that since they were kids and —

“Yeah, totally.” They lie.

They get in the car, and Josie and Lizzie throw their bags on the backseat, careful not to hurt Pedro, and the blonde sighs when she sees the other two grabbing their helmets from under the passenger seat to put it on.

Lizzie watches as they adjust the helmets on their heads slightly before she speaks up.

“Really?”

Josie eyes her as if she should know any better, “Of course. Plus, you know I don’t like car rides.” 

“I think you’re dramatic.” 

“Pot to the kettle, Elizabeth.” Is Josie’s only response and Lizzie rolls her eyes and starts the car, and she only barely manages to stop it before the car hits someone. Someone that she would have seen had she remembered to check the mirrors beforehand.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” She hears from outside, and Pedro gasps. Josie is holding her breath from the passenger seat and Lizzie winces when she checks the rearview mirror and her eyes meet Hope’s as she leans down and looks through the backdoor window to try and see who had just almost run her over. 

Lizzie closes her eyes and exhales as Hope begins to make her way around the car towards the driver’s window, and Pedro and Josie begin to laugh hysterically. 

“Good call on our helmets, Jo!” Pedro exclaims from the backseat, completely amused, and Lizzie rests her head on the steering wheel, utterly humiliated. This is why her mother shouldn’t have taken that documentary producing job and traveled so far away for an extended period of time by consequence. Because Lizzie will kill people with her car. While she’s not even actually driving.

Lizzie’s head is still pressed against the steering wheel when there’s a knock on the window beside her, and she sits up straight and looks to her right to find Hope standing there expectantly. She takes a deep breath, and then another, and presses down the button to open her windows. For a while, the only sound around them is Josie and Pedro’s soft laughter and the sound of the glass sliding down.

Hope leans down and rests one arm on the car, an almost amused expression on her face as she says, “Hi.”

“Hi.” Lizzie responds, wanting nothing more than just magically disappear.

“You doing okay?” 

“Yep.”

“Yeah?” Hope’s voice betrays her amusement, now, and Lizzie feels her face burning. She can hear Josie chuckling beside her and she wants nothing more than to hit her twin for her to shut up.

“Yeah.”

Hope pauses for a second, and Lizzie doesn’t need to be psychic to know that she’s about to be made fun of. She’s right, obviously, because the next words out of Hope’s mouth completely confirm her suspicions, “You know, people usually check behind them before they reverse to avoid accidents. It’s like, a random thing drivers do.”

Lizzie knows that she’s blushing when she says, “Yeah, I know that. I’m just, um, not completely used to driving yet, so.” Her eyes meet Hope for a fraction of a second before she looks away and towards the same spot in front of her again, but it’s enough of a second for her to notice the glint in Hope Mikaelson’s stormy blue eyes and wish she could die at this moment even more.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Hope teases, and Lizzie refuses to look at her. “You think you’re gonna be able to make it out of the parking lot, or…?”

Lizzie exhales again and lies, “Yes.” 

She finally allows her eyes to meet Hope’s then, and she regrets it instantly when she sees the amused smirk on Hope’s full lips or the way that her eyes seem like they shine in amusement at her reaction. 

Hope nods, and the way she doesn’t cast her eyes away from Lizzie or the way her expression doesn’t change makes the blonde nervous as she continues, her voice dying out and trailing off until she’s just hushing the words out, “You should just… go.” 

“Whatever you say, Saltzman,” Hope shrugs, but she doesn’t move away just yet. Instead, she leans forward a bit so she can take a look inside the car. She looks from Pedro to Josie and directs her next words to Josie, who’d been strangely quiet throughout their interaction. “Hey, you’re in charge.”

Josie grins in response and Lizzie sends a quick glance her way to find her twin raising her eyebrows to her in response. And, before she even knows it, Hope is walking away. The blonde does not look away from her steering wheel as she quietly presses the button to slide the window up again, all too aware of the two pairs of brown eyes on her. There’s silence in the car before Pedro speaks up from the backseat. “Who was that?”

Josie’s still grinning when she responds, “That was Hope Mikaelson.”

Pedro nods once, and Lizzie sits back on the driver’s seat for a moment before Josie looks at her expectantly. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“For the rest of the cars to leave.” Lizzie says in a calm tone, and she doesn’t need to look at either of them to know that their sighs are accompanied by eyerolls before Josie mutters under her breath.

“Jesus Christ.”

* * *

“What do you think mom’s doing tonight?” Josie asks Josie that Saturday night while they’re both watching Golden Girls, Lizzie laying on her side on the couch and Josie on her back, her arms crossed under her head in support as she watches the show quietly.

Stefan had gone out on an important business dinner and the house was quiet save by the sounds of the television and the twins’ quiet laughter at the show from time to time.

Lizzie responds almost instantly, “Crack.” 

Josie sits up, a frown on her face, “Lizzie, why would you say that?”

The blonde doesn’t move from her position as she answers, “It’s how Scottish people say fun. Aunt Lexi told me.”

“Did you look it up to make sure she wasn’t just messing with you?”

“Well, duh.”

The brunette nods and lies back on her prior position.

“It’s weird not having mom here, huh?” Lizzie asks.

Josie moves then, and nods, “I miss her Blanche impression.”

Lizzie gives her a half sad smile that Josie returns before she lies back just in time for another punchline. They laugh together for a moment before Josie makes to sit again, and Lizzie moves from her position so she can look at her sister more easily.

“You know, Liz, if one of us were in a relationship with someone that can drive, then maybe we wouldn’t have to drive at all because they would take us places.” She finishes, giving her sister a grin, and she looks satisfied when Lizzie laughs.

“Well, if that’s what it takes, I guess we’re screwed.” Lizzie responds, and Josie makes a face.

“I guess so. Well,” She squints, a teasing look on her face, “What about Hope?”

“ _ What _ about Hope?” Lizzie frowns.

Josie grins, “I dunno, Lizzie, she looked a bit  _ too  _ okay with almost being run over by you.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes and throws a pillow at Josie. “Shut up, Josette.”

“Don’t you full name me, Elizabeth.”

Josie chuckles and holds up her pinky finger, “I won’t if you won’t.”

“Deal.” Lizzie nods, twisting her own pinky finger around her twin’s and they focus back their attention on the television.

“You notice how we’re like, seventeen and we’re spending our Saturday night watching Golden Girls reruns?” Josie says as she grabs a cushion and sets it on her twin’s lap before she lies her head down on the blonde’s lap. Lizzie chuckles as she begins running her fingers through her sister’s hair, considering her statement.

She never really considered that it might've been possible that there were parties that her and her sister could’ve been attending to right now. Honestly, she thought it was just a given that they would’ve stayed home. She frowns.

When had she become so unconcerned with parties and social gatherings? Was that depressing? Should she be concerned? Should she be concerned that she’s not, well, concerned?

She didn’t want to be anywhere else. She liked being home with her sister. So she decides on not being concerned, at all, and begins braiding her twin’s hair as she watches the show on the television. 

Lizzie barely notices it when her and Josie fall asleep.

* * *

“So, what’d you do last night?” Kaleb asks her while they jog together on their track team practice. They weren’t going fast by any means, managing to keep a steady rhythm as they tried to hold a conversation while running laps.

“I finished another book. Josie and I went out to have dinner with dad,” Lizzie responds and shrugs. Kaleb chuckles. “You?”

“Had to have dinner with the fam and MG,” He tells her and then shakes his head, “So, obviously, MG was being… well, MG, and Kym looked  _ way  _ too fond of it. Made me sick.  _ They _ make me sick.”

Lizzie laughs along with him and tries to regulate her breathing so she doesn’t burn out from exertion. Talking and jogging was not a good combo, but it’s never really stopped the two before. Her and Kaleb were the two best runners in the track team of their school, so it’s not like their coach cared. The boy is about to continue their conversation when a voice interrupts them, and they turn around, not pausing their jog, to find Hope Mikaelson beginning to jog to keep up with them.

“Hey, can I talk to you?” Hope asks Lizzie, and the blonde frowns.

“Me?”

Hope nods, gives her one one of those half-amused and completely teasing smirks she’d given her about a week ago and says, “You.”

“Hey, Mikaelson, heard Alyssa dumped you over the weekend for a college student, that right?” Kaleb asks, his voice a bit drained from the physical activity but still clear enough that Lizzie could detect the teasing in his tone as he directed his attention to the auburn haired girl in her trademarked mom jeans and a V-neck burgundy long sleeved shirt. 

Hope gives Kaleb an humorless laugh as she begins to slow down on her jog, and the duo automatically slow down with her as Hope says, “Heard you got shot down by Jed again. That right?”

“That was cold,” Kaleb says with an impressed grin, “Besides, it’s a special thing between us both. So, ya know.” 

“Uh-huh, I’m sure.” Hope nods slowly, and then she raises her eyebrows and shakes her head before she turns back to Lizzie, “Anyway, I need to talk to Lizzie. Alone.” She adds when Kaleb doesn’t move.

Lizzie shrugs when Kaleb turns to her, his eyes studying his friend, and then he nods once, “‘Kay.” 

And then, as he begins to walk away backwards, not really caring that this is a track practice and he’s not exactly meant to be leaving the field, he turns his attention to Lizzie, “If ya need me, I’ll be makin’ sure Kym and MG aren’t being disgusting in school grounds. Or, ya know, checking out my boyfriend to be at basketball practice.” He winks, and Hope shakes her head and chuckles as Lizzie smiles and nods, watching him begin to run out and away, a few of his braids escaping the bun he had put them in as he runs, making sure that the coach wouldn’t see him slipping away from practice.

After he’s out of sight, Hope turns to Lizzie with a serious expression and clears her throat. Lizzie raises one eyebrow, “Look, um… I just wanted to tell you that I really appreciate it, but it’s not gonna happen.” 

Lizzie blinks. When the other girl doesn’t elaborate, she asks, “Huh?”

“Okay, listen, from what I remember of that kiss… I mean, it was cute and all, and maybe it was a little hot for it being a kiss in seventh grade,” Hope begins, and Lizzie’s eyebrows meet at the center of her forehead in a confused frown. “And, look, I think it’s sweet that you think my eyes are like, the ocean or whatever, but…”

_ The ocean? _

_ When the hell had Lizzie said anything abou— oh. _

_ Oh no. _

_ Oh no, oh no, oh no — _

Lizzie feels her heart stop beating for a moment before it kickstarts again and her blood is completely freezing up as she glances down at the smaller girl’s hand and finds the absolute  _ last  _ thing she would  _ ever  _ want to see in her hand.  _ (Truthfully. She would be like, relieved if it was something that could kill her. Like, a gun. God, she’d love it if Hope was holding a gun and not that stupid letter.) _

Not the letter. Never the letter. Letter number two, the one that was supposed to be inside the wooden chest that was near her bed, locked in her room, blocks away from where she stood.  _ That _ letter. The one that was never supposed to be read by someone else that wasn’t her. And  _ definitely _ not by the person she had written it to.

She barely notices it when Hope continues talking to her, her heart slamming against her ribcage and her blood pumping so loudly and her breathing speeds up and — yup. Definitely an episode. Lizzie was definitely about to have an episode and Josie was definitely not anywhere near her to know how to deal with it. The memories of seventh grade and spin-the-bottles at first parties and first kisses and Alyssa glaring at her and Josie giving her weird looks begin to run through her head, and there’s a beat when Lizzie realizes, almost relieved, when instead of an episode, she fully blacks out.

* * *

_ “Lizzie.” _

_ “Lizzie, wake up.” _

_ “Hello? Can someone please help?” _

_ “Lizzie!” _

_ “Lizzie, come on, wake up.” _

_ “Lizzie?” _

* * *

Lizzie snaps her eyes open and the first thing she sees once her eyes adjust to the light is Hope’s face hovering over hers, a concerned frown on her pretty face, “Are you okay?”

“What happened?” Lizzie asks, a frown making its way onto her face, and she realizes then that she’s lying down in the middle of the track field.

“You like… fainted.”

_ Oh. Yeah. Right. _

“Okay, um,” She closes her eyes and tries to regulate her breath. Fainting was not very common when she had her anxiety attacks, as she mostly chose to just break things and throw things around until she could breathe again, but, well. This was a new brand of humiliation that Lizzie was not very accustomed with, so. That tracks.

Especially when she realizes she’d just fainted in front of Hope Mikaelson, of all people.

She groans.

“Here, give me your hand,” Hope says after a second, and her tone is soft and easy. Lizzie feels her hand being taken and her arm moved, “And the other one.”

Both of her hands are now being held by Hope’s, and Lizzie is still finding it incredibly difficult to open her eyes, “Come on, there we go,” Hope begins to pull her up, and Lizzie sighs and moves so she’s sitting up like the other girl wants her to. She can feel the hint of a headache beginning to make itself known and she groans softly again. “Now you’re up.”

Lizzie rubs her forehead softly, knowing there would be a bruise there,  _ but hey, at least there was no blood, _ and she mumbles, “Don’t patronize me.” 

She hears Hope chuckling at her comment and Lizzie sighs. Hope watches her in concern for a moment.

“Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to call someone? I don’t - I mean, I know you have um, like, episodes and stuff, but —” Hope clears her throat and Lizzie looks up at her with curious eyes and Hope continues, “I mean, is there anything you need me to do? Get you some water? Do you need me to get Josie?”

Lizzie meets her eyes, then, weirdly touched by the other girl’s concern and she gives her a small, hopefully reassuring smile and says, “No, it’s okay. Thank you.”

“You sure?”

And just as Lizzie is about to answer, her eyes catch sight of Sebastian making his way towards the field, holding…  _ oh, fuck no. _

The fifth letter.

“Son of a bitch,” Lizzie says under her breath, feeling her heart drop to her stomach and that’s the moment Sebastian meets her eyes. The look in his face makes Lizzie wish she could just pass out again, “Oh my God,” she says a little louder, this time, and she barely notices it when Hope begins looking around them confusedly, trying to figure out what could’ve gotten the blonde girl before her so upset, but Lizzie doesn’t give her too much time to do so.

The moment Hope parts her lips to ask her what was wrong is the same moment that Lizzie grabs her head with both of her hands and pushes her so she’s lying on her back and Lizzie is hovering over her, and Hope barely has time to ask her what was going on before Lizzie’s mouth was forcibly covering hers.

They don’t really realize what they’re doing and the position they’re in until they part ways a moment later after an angry call of  _ “hey!”  _ from their teacher is heard from the sidelines of the track field as he glares down at them. 

Lizzie looks up from her position hovering above Hope and she meets her teacher’s eyes as he berates her, “That’s two more laps for you, Saltzman!”

The blonde looks back down at the auburn haired girl, who’s watching her with a confused frown on her face, her right arm sprawled out on the red field as her left hand hovers in the air, near Lizzie’s shoulder. 

Lizzie doesn’t really plan on sticking around to help her make sense of this, honestly.

Before she knows it, she’s standing up and throwing a quick  _ “thank you!”  _ over her shoulder as she begins to run away. She barely manages to not bump into Sebastian as she runs past him, and she wonders if her run towards the girl’s bathroom, all the way across from the school campus counts as two extra laps. She doesn’t plan on going back to ask, though. Not today.

She walks into one of the cubicles and holds her hands to her head and begins trying to regulate her breath, just like her mom taught her and how Josie would always help her when she got like this. Her headache is stronger, now, and she thinks that she might as well stay here by herself where no one else can see her for the rest of the day until she has to go home.

But, of course, the universe was a finicky bastard, and Lizzie groans lowly when she hears the bathroom door open again and then, “Hey, Lizzie, you in there?”

She’s half relieved when she realizes the voice coming from the door is masculine, and not Hope Mikaelson’s. She sighs. 

“No?”

Instead of an answer, she hears a chuckle from outside and then the door is closing, and then there are a few steps before a letter is slid down from the gap at the bottom of the cubicle. Lizzie winces.

Jed. The third letter. 

The boy from Homecoming. Who’d smiled at her and danced with her and kept her company all night. Who’d complimented her outfit and smiled brightly and Lizzie had… completely missed the fact that he had been sticking around her and being so nice to her because Kaleb, her best friend, was her and Josie’s date, as MG and Kym had been each other’s date and Kaleb had told them there was no way he was getting them out of his eyesight and no way he would choose between the twins for a date, telling them that it would be his pleasure and their honor to let them both take him to the dance. 

She sighs.

“Look, I didn’t mean to barge in on you, uh — I just saw you run in here and I wanted to make sure you’re okay. And, um, I thought you might want that back. It seemed a little… personal.”

Lizzie glances down at the envelope in her hands, “Jed, I hope you know that I wrote this years ago…”

“Freshman Homecoming, right?” Jed asks, his tone light and warm, and Lizzie sighs once again before she opens the door and steps out. Jed steps towards her with a small friendly smile, “I had a lot of fun that night, too. But… I feel like I should, uh… I mean, you probably know this, but. You know I’m like…”

“Gay?” Lizzie finishes for him, one eyebrow raised, and when he nods she chuckles, “Yeah, Jed, I know. Don’t worry.” 

“Okay, just checking.” He adjusts the straps of his bag over his shoulder before he continues, “Listen, sorry again for barging in like this. I just, um, well, I consider you a friend and… I don’t know. I just thought you’d like to have that back. I don’t suppose you’re the one who sent it, are you?”

“Definitely not,” Lizzie agrees, and she smiles at Jed. “Hey, thanks for understanding, though.”

“Don’t worry about it. It happens to all of us,” Jed shrugs, “God knows I’ve done worse than this. So you’re cool.”

Lizzie chuckles and he smiles back. Then, he seems to realize something, “And I mean, we both know I’m gay, but I still definitely should not be just hanging around in the girls’ bathroom. Plus, I think Kaleb is waiting for me outside.”

Lizzie laughs and watches him as he begins to walk out. He pauses just before he opens the door, though, and turns to her with a concerned look, “Hey, do you need me to take you to the nurse’s office? Or, like, get Josie? You look like you’re sick.”

She gives him a weak smile, “No, it’s fine. Thanks, though.”

“Okay,” He nods and gives her a smile, “See you around.”

“Bye.”

Lizzie watches as the door closes behind him and she sighs in relief. At least  _ that  _ was that. Jed can be definitely crossed out of her concerns, and probably MG too — she’s not sure how that one is gonna go, but, she’s hopeful that MG will find it in himself to be cool about this.

But she definitely needed to figure out what the  _ fuck _ was going on, though.

* * *

Lizzie rushes up the stairs once she gets home, barely even noticing Stefan talking to her once he sees his daughters walking in, and she throws her school bag carelessly on the floor of her room, her hand slamming against the wall to find the light switch. She runs towards the wooden chest near her bed and her heart drops once she glances inside and doesn’t find the box that the letters were supposed to be in. She frantically searches around the room, then, trying to locate the box from hell and she feels her anxiety begin to creep in more and more as her search comes up empty. 

She sprints down the stairs when she hears Stefan and Josie making light conversation and gets the attention from her father.

“Dad, have you seen this little blue box anywhere? It’s round, fabric on top, a little bow on it?” Her tone is frantic and anxious, her breathing fast paced, and Stefan pauses his mixing on a bowl and raises an eyebrow.

“Oh, no ‘hi, dad!’ or ‘how come you’re home early?’. Oh, I don’t know, sweetheart, maybe because I was able to send everyone home early today in celebration of the fact we published yet another best seller —”

“Dad, don’t take this the wrong way, but I cannot with your Caroline Forbes patented drama right now. This is important!” Lizzie interrupts him, not really in the mood to be playful right now, and Stefan seems to realize that this is actually serious.

“I don’t know, Lizzie,” He says, “Have you checked in your room?”

When she nods, he thinks for a second, “Um, do you think it’s possible that it got packed by mistake into your mother’s things?” He suggests, almost afraid of what her reaction would be. Lizzie bites her lips for a second before she realizes that that could not have been possible. She never takes it out of where it’s hiding. And she’s pretty sure her mother hadn’t actually gone in her room to pack for anything of Lizzie’s that she might need. So.

It had to be there. Maybe she just didn’t look through her room enough.

Stefan seems to find that Lizzie looks calmer, and then he motions towards something on the other side of the room, “Hey, you got some mail while you were at school.”

“Huh?” Lizzie mutters, more to herself than him, and Stefan watches as Lizzie walks towards the table at the corner of the kitchen and picks up a small brown envelope with stamps that definitely were not supposed to be there, her own handwriting staring back at her.

“Oh, no.”

Stefan and Josie watch as Lizzie walks up the stairs with the envelope in her hands, an expression that is nearing full panic on her face, and Stefan frowns and looks at Josie.

“What’s going on?”

Josie seems to be going through her own personal issues when she shrugs half-heartedly and answers, “Maybe she’s on her period or something. I’m about to get mine.”

“Ah, okay.” Stefan clears his throat and nods.

Josie winces when Lizzie’s door slams closed upstairs.

* * *

Alright. 

Okay.

So. The letters were out. They’re out. Totally out. And there’s nothing she can do about it.

Good news is: Jed gave her his letter back. Everything worked out with that one. 

More good news: Rafael’s letter was addressed to camp, and they were currently in Lizzie’s hands, completely unopened, safe and sound. So, at least Raf will never,  _ ever,  _ find out about how hard Lizzie had been crushing on him when they were ten and Raf helped her with swimming for the whole summer. That was good. That was great, actually. That one was okay. She could definitely count Raf out.

And, well, MG. Lizzie knows that he will most likely be annoying about it when they see each other, but it’s not like Lizzie doesn’t know how to handle him. So. That was a good point, she guesses.

Now, the awful news that make the good news seem like nothing: Sebastian had his letter. Hope had hers. Lizzie bites her lip hard enough to draw blood and hisses at herself.

“God  _ damn _ it,” she mutters, cursing at herself for even writing those in the first place. Cursing her therapist for telling her that would be a good idea. She wants to hit something.

What if Sebastian read it? He probably did. Probably read it all, with his stupid fucking eyes and his dumb smirk and -  _ God, seriously, could her lip stop bleeding?! _

Lizzie throws herself on her bed and closes her eyes, and suddenly all she can hear inside her mind is that stupid,  _ stupid  _ british accent reading her letter out loud, that infuriating smirk —

“Argh!” She all but screams, shooting up in bed, and she walks towards her window to open it and stops once she sees no one else but the absolute last person she ever wants to see, the very person who’d been haunting her anguished thoughts just a few seconds ago, walking towards Lizzie’s family residence’s front door. 

There’s a moment of silence in the house when the doorbell rings, and Lizzie all but jumps when she hears Josie’s voice from behind her. “What are you doing?”

Lizzie turns around to look at her and gives her twin a nervous laugh that makes Josie raise an eyebrow, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

Josie looks at her like she doesn’t believe her, because  _ obviously  _ Lizzie was lying, and before she could question her any further, Stefan’s voice calls from downstairs, “Lizzie! Sebastian’s here!”

It takes Lizzie an alarmingly short second to make her decision of sliding the curtains open and opening her window. She turns to her twin, “You never saw me here.”

She grabs her bag from the floor and turns back to her window, feeling her sister’s disbelieving eyes on her as she jumps out and makes a run for it through the roof. 

Not her best or proudest moment, she’ll admit as she gracelessly rolls from the front porch’s roof and ends up falling on the front lawn, but hey —  _ at least she’s alive and nothing is broken! _

_ Well, hopefully,  _ she adds mentally as she stands and feels a sting on her leg from where she knows the skin is  _ definitely  _ turning purple. 

Fucking  _ hopefully _ .


	2. sit next to me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi!! thank u so much for all the positive comments on chapter 1!! i'm so glad you guys are interested in this series! 
> 
> here's chap 2, hope u like it! as always, did not do a proofread after checking for misspellings so........ you know the drill lmao
> 
> enjoy!!

Lizzie makes the familiar route towards the Mystic Grill a few blocks away from her home, pedaling her trusty faded purple bike slowly since she was pretty sure she might have pulled a muscle by jumping off the roof. She finds that the somewhat scenic route towards the restaurant that she’d pretty much been a regular in since birth is somewhat calming;  _ somewhat  _ because she could still feel the anxiety creeping back in every two minutes.

The woman working the counter today is no one other than the manager of the restaurant, Vicki Donovan, someone who Lizzie had known all of her life since the Donovan siblings had been friends of her parents since forever. When she sees her, Vicki greets her with a smile and gives her a wink as she readily sets to prepare Lizzie’s usual order as soon as she begins to approach her — a slice of their specialty and Lizzie’s favorite, the key lime pie, and a tall glass of iced tea. 

In no time, the order is set in front of her on the counter, and Lizzie takes a first sip of her drink, wanting more than anything to begin to feel comforted by it. 

It never happens, though, because as soon as she begins to feel even an ounce of calmness, she hears it.

“Hey, Saltzman.”

She frowns and turns her head, and the drink almost goes down the wrong pipe when she finds Hope looking at her as she sits down two stools away from her, her arms folded on the counter as she looks at Lizzie.

Before she can ask anything, Vicki steps out from the kitchen and takes in the scene before her with a curious smile, “Oh. Anything for your... friend?”

Lizzie makes a face and shakes her head, “Ask her. She’s not with me.”

“She would like a peanut butter blast with whipped cream on the bottom,” Hope speaks up. 

“You’re Landon’s friend, aren’t you?” The older woman asks, a knowing smile on her face and Hope nods. “I’m afraid Landon isn’t working today, but I’m familiar with the process of your special drink. I’ll be right back.” And when she winks at Hope and steps back into the kitchen after Hope mutters her thanks, Lizzie chances a quick glance at the auburn haired girl to find her glancing around the place thoughtfully. 

“So, what are you doing here?” She asks, curious and nervous. She thinks Hope notices the tone.

“Well, this  _ is  _ the main dining spot in town, isn’t it?” Hope squints at her teasingly before she chuckles, “Plus, I’m always down for Peanut Butter Blast.” She adds easily, as if it was just a common fact. Lizzie doesn’t know why, but she does not believe her.

“Okay, then.” Lizzie nods once, turning her attention back to her food.

“And plus,” Hope speaks up then, not taking too long to fess up. Lizzie fights her smirk, “I stopped at your house and Josie said you’d probably be here.”

The blonde pauses. Of course Josie would. She sighs internally and she’s about to ask why Hope had stopped by her house when she sees Hope turn her body towards her fully on the stool and continue, “I just wanna be like… super clear.”

“Okay.” Lizzie says, but it sounds more like a question. She knows for a second that she looks confused, with the frown on her face, and that her eyes are squinting like they always do when she feels like this — you know, just absolutely sick with confusion and dread.

“I’m flattered, I am, but um…” Hope takes a deep breath, “Alyssa and I  _ just  _ broke up, and…”

“Are you trying to reject me right now?”

“Well, yeah. Because it didn’t seem like you got it the first time.” Hope statement sounds more like a question, as if her brain still couldn’t wrap around what had happened at the track field earlier that day. And honestly, Lizzie could not blame her.

“Hope Mikaelson, I am  _ not _ trying to date you.” Lizzie makes it clear. Hope licks her lips and the blonde waits for the statement to make itself known in the other girl’s brain. They stay silent for a beat, and when Hope speaks up it does not seem like Lizzie’s statement registered as an understanding for her.

“Okay, but your mouth is saying something, and  _ then  _ your mouth said something completely different.”

Lizzie blinks twice.

“Sorry?”

Before Hope could elaborate, Vicki returns with her milk-shake and Hope offers her a small smile as she thanks her. Vicki gives her a smile back and then turns to wink at Lizzie, making the blonde’s frown deepen. 

_ What the actual hell was that supposed to mean? _

Hope seems to not see that interaction as she takes a sip of her drink through the straw.

“Okay, so. Here’s the thing,” Lizzie begins, trying to make sense of it all.

Hope turns to her, her lips not leaving the straw as she hums at her to go on.

“I don’t like you,” Lizzie says, and Hope’s eyebrows rise for a second before she frowns at Lizzie, her lips still busy with her milk-shake. She guesses Hope wasn’t lying about being here for it, as well. Lizzie tried to explain, “I just had to make it  _ look  _ like I did so someone else wouldn’t think that I liked them.”

Hope is silent for a beat as she takes the explanation in, and soon enough she’s setting the cup back on the counter and focusing back on Lizzie with a disbelieving expression on her face, “Okay. Who?”

“What?”

“Who?” Hope repeats, slowly. “You gotta tell me who this mystery person is, otherwise I’ll just go on believing that you have a secret tattoo with my face on it. That’s all.”

Lizzie shakes her head, “Nope. Not happening.”

“Alright, then, so should I tell the whole school that you wrote me a love letter?” Hope asks, and Lizzie actually does hate herself a bit more when she realizes she’s taking the bait. She reasons to herself that she just  _ cannot  _ afford taking any chances now, as the universe had been so clearly keen on completely humiliating her, if the last few days were anything to go by. She sighs and turns her attention back to the auburn haired girl, who’s looking at her expectantly.

“Fine,” She exhales, “It’s Sebastian.”

“Wait, didn’t you  _ date  _ Sebastian?” Hope frowns, confused. 

Lizzie winces, “Yeah.”

Hope raises an eyebrow, and the blonde sighs before she continues, “We dated for a few months, but we broke up in the beginning of summer. He’s… well, insistent to make things right. And I do  _ not  _ want to speak to him ever again, if I can help it. But, well, he got a letter. So, you can imagine how fucking terrible my day has been with the thought of Sebastian thinking I still have feelings for him.” 

“Wait, hold on,” Hope stops her from continuing her word vomit, “I’m not the only one who got a letter?”

The blonde shakes her head in a negative and Hope looks away from a moment. 

“Wow, you really think you’re special and then you find out she wrote love letters to two different people.”

“Well, um, actually, funny story —” Lizzie says, trying to joke, “It was five, so don’t feel too special.” 

Hope’s eyebrows raise in surprise at that.

“You wrote  _ five  _ love letters?!”

“Yeah.”

“Damn, Saltzman. You’re a player,” Hope chuckles, and Lizzie tries not to blush. “Who else got the letters?”

“If I tell you, will you please let this go?”

“Maybe,” Hope punctuated her response by taking a sip of her milkshake, her eyes not leaving the other girl.

The blonde rolls her eyes, “Alright. Um, Jed.”

Hope blinks. 

“Isn’t he… gay?”

“Yeah.” Lizzie nods and sighs and Hope nods along with her, her eyes full of mirth and the corner of her mouth curving up in amusement.

“Alright. And who else?”

“Uh… Someone from camp and… Well, MG.” 

Hope raises one eyebrow at that, but she stays silent as she processes the information she’s been given and the blonde takes that moment to grab her bag from the floor and take the money to pay for her basically uneaten food. “So, are we good here?”

Hope nods and watches as Lizzie throws the money on the counter, as if she couldn’t wait to run out the door.

“Yeah. No, yeah, we’re good.”

The blonde gives her a smile, gets off the stool and throws her bag over her shoulder, “Great.”

Before she can move away, though, Hope speaks up again, “Wait, wait, wait. It’s just —” She pauses, and Lizzie watches as she motions with her head towards the front door of the restaurant. “That sparkly bike out front. Is that your ride?”

And there it is— that infuriating, absolutely irritating teasing smirk on Hope’s full lips as she waits for Lizzie to confirm something she knows to be the truth. Lizzie exhales.

“Yeah.”

Hope nods slowly, and Lizzie can tell that she’s trying not to laugh.

* * *

“Thanks for driving me.” Lizzie says once Hope parks her car in front of the blonde’s house.

The car ride had been a little awkward and silent — save from the music playing softly from Hope’s car radio. Hope and Lizzie hadn’t actually ever been friends before, so the two girls weren’t too sure if they had anything in common that could spark up conversation. And besides, Lizzie had noticed that Hope seemed a little lost in her own thoughts as she drove and Lizzie didn’t care too much to disturb her. 

Plus, not like Lizzie didn’t also have about a trillion thoughts running through her head and on the brink of driving her insane to care about. So.

“No problem.” Hope gives her a small smile and a shrug and Lizzie bites her lip for a second.

“And, um… Sorry about jumping you.” She says softly, mustering up a small, embarrassed smile to the other girl. Lizzie was very sorry about that, actually — she believes in consent. Consent is definitely important for Lizzie, especially after everything that she had gone through with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. 

Hope nods again and her smile grows into a teasing smirk when she says, “It could’ve been worse.”

Lizzie looks away from her, avoiding the girl’s eyes as she tries not to blush. They’re silent for another moment before Hope speaks up again, “So, do you know what you’re gonna say to Sebastian?”

Lizzie takes a deep breath. “Well, probably the truth. But hopefully he’ll get himself expelled or something so I don’t have to talk to him like, at all.”

“Yeah but um, well — what  _ is _ the truth?” Hope asks, her tone of genuine curiosity, “I mean, do you still have feelings for him?”

“I don’t think that concerns you, Mikaelson, so…” She trails off and opens the door of Hope’s jeep — and, if Lizzie had been in the mood for it she would definitely have teased the auburn haired girl for driving a car that was so clearly ten times bigger than she was — and then she turns to look at the girl in the driver’s seat as she continues, “Can I get my bike?”

Hope silently leaves her car and helps the blonde remove the bike from the back of her car. Lizzie thanks her again for the ride and then begins to stroll her bike slowly as she makes her way to her front porch. 

She’s barely halfway there when Hope comes up behind her, grabbing the seat of the bike to stop her from moving. 

“Wait, hold on,” The taller girl turns around and watches in curiosity as Hope meets her eyes, her tone light as feather, “What if you didn’t… have to tell him anything?”

Lizzie pauses, raising one eyebrow when Hope doesn’t elaborate.

“What?” She asks finally.

“Like… what if we let people think we’re together?” Hope shrugs, “Just for a while. Not just Sebastian, but like. Everybody.”

Lizzie blinks.

“Why would you want that?”

“Well, for starters… When Alyssa heard about you kissing me, she lost it,” Hope tells her, and the blonde begins to understand where Hope’s line of thought was. She waits and Hope continues, “If she thinks you and I are a thing, she’ll definitely want to get back together.”

Lizzie nods slowly.

“So you want to use me as your pawn?”

“Technically, didn’t you use me as your pawn first when you jumped me earlier so Sebastian wouldn’t get a chance to talk to you?” Hope rebuts quickly and Lizzie doesn’t have a rebuttal. The girl had a point. She begins strolling her bike again, deciding not to dignify Hope’s proposition with further consideration. She hears the other girl sigh behind her.

“You don’t have to give me an answer right now. Can you just think about it?” Hope calls from behind her and Lizzie rolls her eyes. 

“Don’t hold your breath, Mikaelson.” She calls back, leaning her bike against the steps of the front porch before she makes her way up and towards the front door, ready to just take a shower and hopefully knock herself out to get this day from hell over with.

She does not look back to see if Hope was still standing there when she all but slams the door behind her.

* * *

Later that night, Lizzie finds that her thoughts of Sebastian are silenced by the thoughts of Hope Mikaelson. Unfortunately, she cannot say the same about Josie’s incessant questions about why Sebastian had come over earlier. 

Lizzie sighs when she realizes that she had unconsciously made a decision about the proposition she’d been given by Hope earlier that day.

“Son of a bitch,” Lizzie mutters, her face against the pillow, thankful that at  _ least  _ her nighttime pills were doing their job to help her with getting this day over with.

* * *

Lizzie finds Hope on the soccer field the next day. The auburn haired girl has on the school’s team uniform on and her hair is braided neatly, and Lizzie’s first thought is that it’s not fair for Hope to look so attractive when wearing those stupid uniforms. She shakes the thought away and calls Hope’s name out, making the girl turn around and then approach the taller girl, a curious look on her face.

“Yeah?” She asks when she’s finally standing in front of the blonde. Lizzie takes a deep breath.

“Let’s do this.”

Hope grins and her blue eyes glance around the field, taking notice of her teammates and the students who usually hung around to watch practice. She looks back at Lizzie, then, and her response to the other girl’s statement is pulling the taller girl towards her by the waist, their bodies flush against each other, and then her lips meet Lizzie’s in a kiss.

Lizzie feels Hope trying to deepen the kiss and she allows it, her mind not fully processing what was going on — she just knew it felt  _ really good — _ but when it clicks, she pulls away, all too aware of the murmurs and the eyes on them. She clears her throat and meets Hope’s amused eyes, a combo with that  _ stupid  _ and attractive pleased smirk on her face.

“I am going to trig.” Lizzie states, trying her hardest to keep her tone level. Hope nods. “Have a nice day.”

“Yeah,” Hope says, “I’ll see you later,  _ babe. _ ”

“Yup.” Lizzie waves from over her shoulder, not feeling like turning around for it as she avoids making eye contact with the people around her as she leaves the field. She can hear Hope’s chuckles and the sound of it makes her sick.

_ Son of a bitch, indeed. _

* * *

Lizzie is someone who likes to be in control. Of herself, of the situations she’s put in, of her schedule, her future. That’s definitely something that she’s taken after her mother, the human embodiment of OCD.

And, as the daughter of someone extremely professional and organized such as Caroline Forbes, it’s only natural that her first instinct as she sits on her assigned seat in class a few minutes after telling Hope that she was in on her idea for the pretend-dating, was that maybe Lizzie should probably work on a contract. Not one by law, by any means, but just something that would work as a semblance of the control over situations that Lizzie so intensely craves.

So, that’s the first thing she tells Hope when they sit down in one of the picnic tables in the area in front of the school building, the tree above them casting a comfortable shadow over the table they’re in. 

Hope is sitting beside Lizzie on the bench, not too close but not too far, the sleeves of her Mystic Falls’ Timberwolves hoodie rolled up to her elbows as she takes a sip from her water bottle and watches as the blonde girl beside her pulls a notebook from her bag and opens it on a blank page.

“First things first: we need to have a contract so we’re on the same page about the rules.” Lizzie says, tone businesslike, and Hope makes a face.

“Rules? You really know how to take the fun out of everything, don’t you?” The auburn haired girl grumbles as she rests her elbows on the top of the table and glances at Lizzie to find the girl giving her a look.

“It’s important to know where you stand on a few issues,” Lizzie continues, as if Hope had never said anything. Hope chuckles under her breath.

“Yeah? Like what issues?” She asks, amused.

“Well, for example,” Lizzie is quick to answer, “I don’t want you to kiss me anymore.”

Hope gapes. 

“Are you serious? How do we expect people to believe that we’re in a relationship if I can’t kiss you?”

“You may be the school’s stud and some sort of James Dean of this kind of stuff but um, I’ve only really had one relationship before this and it didn’t go exactly well.”

“School stud? James Dean?” Hope repeats, raising one eyebrow. “You literally have the same references as my grandma.” 

Lizzie chooses to ignore the jab, and Hope continues, “Can I ask why that matters, anyway?”

“Well, if you must know… my first… _everything…_ was with Sebastian. And I’ve been trying really hard to pretend that never happened, so. I wanted the next time any of it all happened to be like, _real_ and like… Actually healthy. I don’t know.” She shakes her head, frowning when she realizes that she might have not made a lot of sense. She could hardly understand it, either.

“Alright, but… You  _ did  _ kiss me first.”

Lizzie licks her lips and then shrugs, not budging on this. “I’m afraid this is non-negotiable for me.”

Hope exhales.

“Okay, fine.” 

As the blonde then focuses her attention on the paper and begins to write down the contract, Hope stands from the bench and shoves her hands in the front pocket of her burgundy hoodie and circles around the table so she’s standing directly across from Lizzie.

“But we definitely need to figure something out because people are not going to believe us if I’m not allowed to touch you,” Hope says, and Lizzie looks up from her notebook and their eyes meet.

Hope is actually right.

“Okay, I see you have a point there,” Lizzie allows with a nod. She thinks for a second and then makes a suggestion, “How about you put your hand in my back pocket?”

Hope blinks.

“What the hell are you talking about, Saltzman?”

Lizzie rolls her eyes, “Sixteen Candles? Literally the opening image.”

Hope shrugs and Lizzie frowns. “John Hughes?”

Hope shrugs again, raising her eyebrows as if silently telling Lizzie that she honestly did not know what she was talking about.

“Are you serious, Mikaelson?” Lizzie asks in disbelief, and Hope only blinks. “Okay. Two more rules.”

Lizzie scribbles down something on the paper before turning her attention back up to the jock, “You  _ have  _ to watch Sixteen Candles because it’s a classic,” Hope groans and Lizzie ignores her as she continues, “and we’re not allowed to tell anyone that this relationship is fake.” 

“Well, duh. First rule of Fight Club.”

“Huh?”

“Are  _ you  _ serious?” Hope asks, shocked, as she leans forward dramatically, clearly mimicking Lizzie’s reaction a minute earlier. “You’ve  _ never  _ seen Fight Club?”

Lizzie rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Nope.”

“Oh, my god. Okay, write that down then. Double feature. After we watch your candles movie, we have to watch Fight Club.”

Lizzie nods again and writes it down, making Hope chuckle softly when she begins to cite the movie titles slowly as she writes them.

“So, no kissing, no telling anyone, and the movies. Anything else?”

Hope looks thoughtful for a second and Lizzie waits, trying to think of something else herself. After a moment, Hope speaks up again, her voice soft and gentle in a way that makes Lizzie feel something weird in her stomach. “I could… I could write you notes. Every day.”

Lizzie smiles softly, “Really?”

“Sure,” Hope nods, tone still quiet. She shakes her head minimally and continues, “Alyssa was always on my case to write her notes. I never did, so if I start sending you them, she’ll be pissed off. It’ll be good.”

Whatever Lizzie was feeling in her stomach when Hope suggested the notes was completely gone by now. She gives Hope a sarcastic smile. 

“Wow! How romantic!”

Hope ignores her.

“And you have to come with me to my soccer games and the parties, too.”

“Alright, but if I do that, you’ll have to pick me and Josie and Pedro and drive us to school every single day.” Lizzie is quick to compromise.

Hope nods easily as she takes the pen from Lizzie’s hand and pulls the notebook closer to her, “But that means you’ll be coming with me to the ski trip.”

She does not wait for Lizzie’s response before she begins to write it down. The blonde stares at her.

The ski trip.

Lizzie was well aware that the Mystic Falls’ High infamous ski trips were known for being the location where most students lost their virginity, Senior Week and Prom not even getting close to it. Just thinking about it made her nervous.

Needless to say, neither she or Josie have been to those trips.

“Um…” She begins, and Hope looks at her while she slides the notebook back towards her and puts the pen down, “That’s like, three months away. Do you really think we’re still going to be doing this by then?”

“Let’s call it a contingency,” Hope shrugs, and when Lizzie doesn’t seem convinced, she continues, “Look, no one in their right mind would let their significant other go to that trip without them. If we’re still doing this by the time it comes around… we go together.”

Well.

Lizzie’s more than certain that by the time the ski trip comes around, the fake relationship between her and Hope will be ancient history, and the contract will be nulled. 

So, with that thought, she gives Hope a small smile and nods. “Okay.”

She grabs the pen back from where Hope set it down and draws two lines at the bottom of the paper with both of their names under it. She slides the notebook towards the auburn haired girl and hands her the pen and watches as she eyes the paper for a second before quickly scribbling down her signature. She slides the notebook back to Lizzie with an amused expression on her pretty features and Lizzie quickly writes down her own signature before she looks back at Hope and offers her hand in a handshake.

Hope breaks, then, and she’s chuckling in amusement at Lizzie’s antics as she shakes her hand to seal the deal.

It was official.

Lizzie Saltzman was now Hope Mikaelson’s fake girlfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy! ♥ happy legacies day!! til the next update.
> 
> you can find me at sofiascarson on tumblr:)


	3. crowded room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a long chapter for u guys to make up for the wait <3 hope u like this, and as usual i def didn't proofread this so this is gonna be fun for all involved luvs
> 
> title of the chapter is from crowded room by selena gomez ft 6lack :)

“I hate having to take the bus,” Josie groans from behind her as Lizzie locks their front door, “Are you  _ sure  _ you don’t wanna drive today?”

“Actually…” Lizzie begins to say, but the sound of a carn horn from the street interrupts her. The girls turn around together and watch as a jeep stops just in front of their house, and it’s not long before Hope props herself up from the driver’s door.

“Hey! Ready?” Hope calls out to them with a grin, and Lizzie turns to her twin to find the other girl grinning at her like a maniac.

“Fuck yeah, Lizzie!” She exclaims, tone more than just appreciative. 

“Language, Jo.” Lizzie chides quietly, just because, as they start to make their way towards the car. Josie sticks her tongue out at her and Lizzie rolls her eyes. Hope goes back inside the car once the twins reach the doors and Lizzie gets in the passenger seat as Josie jumps into the backseat, shuffling a little so she’s sitting right in the middle of the front seats.

“Hey, Josie, what’s that?” Hope directs her question towards the girl in the backseat as Josie struggles to put on her seatbelt and hold a small bottle at the same time. 

“Oh, just the last bottle of Lizzie’s favorite flavor of this yogurt smoothie,” Josie responds somewhat proudly and Lizzie rolls her eyes, “I won it fair and square on a bet we did this morning and she’s still bitter about it.” She says happily.

“Right,” Hope nods once, and then she turns to the blonde twin and asks, “What was the bet?”

Lizzie shakes her head, “Twin Secret, I’m afraid. Actually, it’s just embarrassing, so. Not telling you.”

“That’s for the best, yes.” Josie nods from the backseat as she finally manages to get her seatbelt in check. 

“So, how exactly do you know my sister?”

Hope looks from Josie to Lizzie for a small millisecond, as if trying to figure out what she should say, but the blonde just shrugs at her in response. Josie looks at her expectantly and Hope turns her attention back on the road before she clears her throat and says, “I’m uh… I’m her girlfriend.”

Lizzie exhales silently when she feels Josie’s eyes on the back of her head. She knows Josie will bombard her with a million questions as soon as she can. 

Hope senses the mood and decides to change the subject, turning to Josie, “Can I have some of that?”

“Sure.” Josie says and hands Hope the bottle. She takes a gulp of it and makes an impressed face as she glances at the bottle in her hand. She turns to Lizzie.

“This is actually really good,” She tells her and Lizzie gives her a small smile. Hope turns a bit so she can return Josie’s drink and she says, “Hey, what do I have to do to get you to bring me one of these tomorrow?”

“Wait, you’re driving us again?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Josie squeals, “Nevermind, that’s doing enough. Expect the drink tomorrow morning.”

Hope leans closer to Lizzie, then, and whispers, “Progress.”

Lizzie forces a smile at the other girl trying her hardest to control the feeling in her stomach at the other girl’s sudden proximity. 

Hope finally starts the car.

* * *

Everyone’s eyes, not surprisingly, are on them as soon as they step into the cafeteria. Hope’s hand is tucked in Lizzie’s back pocket of her jeans, a minimal, almost invisible gap between their bodies as they walk together with small smiles on their faces, as if they couldn’t see or didn’t notice everyone’s stares. Lizzie guesses that Hope didn’t really care about being gawked at anymore, probably used to the attention. 

You see, Hope is one of the most popular girls in school. The auburn haired girl has won their school many titles and trophies over the years, being the golden QB1 of the school, plus the fact that she was Alyssa’s now ex-girlfriend only really added to her status.

Lizzie, on the other hand, had decided early on to focus on her academics and mental health other than her social status, realizing early that having people’s attention on her could somehow potentialize her already heavy episodes. The debate team and model UN was pretty much the only after-class activities she had signed up for, and that didn’t exactly make her all that popular. 

But it’s not that Lizzie didn’t like the attention - no, far from it. A part of her relished in having people’s attention. The looks, the stares, people envying her. It was… exciting. Lizzie found herself rather fond of it.

Another part of her, though, felt nervous. She knows that her mental health isn’t all that trustworthy and having so many eyes on her could mean something rather terrible could happen, and she checks her outfit once to make sure that everything was in its place. 

She was used to blending in, to be honest. But now, people were looking at her (even if not really  _ seeing _ her), talking about her. It made her feel giddy.

Hope sends her a smirk, then, and before she knows it, she’s being twirled by the girl until she stops abruptly when Hope grabs her by the waist.

“What are you doing?” Lizzie questions, a confused smile on her face. Hope, who’s significantly shorter than her, gives her a smirk as she looks up at her before she puts her hand in Lizzie’s back pocket again and pulls her closer before she uses her free hand to fish something out of her own pocket. 

“This is for you.” She says, handing her a folded note with a heart and her name written on top of it in perfect calligraphy, and when Lizzie grabs it from her hand their fingers brush. 

Lizzie holds her breath when Hope takes her free hand to the back of the taller girl’s neck and pulls her down slightly while she stands on her tippy toes so she can reach the blonde’s ear to whisper, “Good job.”

Then, as if it wasn’t enough, Hope puts a lock of Lizzie’s blonde hair that was escaping her braid behind her ear softly before she pulls away slightly, and Lizzie gives her a small smile as she straightens her position again.

“I’ll see you in a bit, okay?” Hope says, and Lizzie nods, a little unable and not really trusting herself to speak at the moment.

There are a lot of emotions and thoughts running through Lizzie as she watches the auburn haired girl walk away, and Lizzie only has to think for a few seconds to know why this was any different from her usually overwhelming emotional state. This situation is weird, plain and simple. It’s weird that everyone’s eyes are on her as she turns around and begins to make her way out of the cafeteria. It’s weird and off-putting to be congratulated on doing nothing more than just taking a note that’s being held to her and just having an ass pocket for someone to stick their hand into, but she guesses that that was her life now.

She barely even makes it out of the cafeteria before she’s being pulled by the arm towards an empty classroom, and she gives Kaleb a small smile when the boy gives her a teasing grin.

“How come I never knew you had the hots for Mikaelson?”

Lizzie shrugs and fakes a smile, “Just as shocked as you are.”

“Did your ma freak?” Kaleb asks, a silly grin on his face.

Lizzie bites her lip.

See, that’s one of the things that’d been causing Lizzie a lot of headaches lately. Not that anyone needed to know that, but. 

Lizzie hadn’t actually told her mom. 

And it’s just because her mother had been one of her main sources of support when she had broken up with Sebastian and she had helped Lizzie nurse a broken heart after such a rocky relationship, and, well. Lizzie had no idea how to even begin to explain this entire situation she’s gotten herself into to her mother. 

She’s sure she was bound to have to tell her eventually, because Josie sucks at keeping secrets and secrets are usually just not kept from Caroline Forbes, but Lizzie really just felt like she needed to buy herself some time to try and figure out what to tell her mother when the time comes.

(She swears, she had nightmares about it.)

“I haven’t talked to her this week yet,” Lizzie says finally, “so she doesn’t know yet.”

And hopefully, she wouldn’t ever need to know. If Josie kept her mouth shut. And Stefan. And Pedro. And Bonnie. And, well, basically the entirety of Mystic Falls, she adds mentally.

* * *

The next Saturday, Lizzie is in the kitchen as she begins to prepare cupcakes for Pedro’s bake sale when there’s a knock on the front door, and she sets one of the kitchen utensils down before she makes her way to the door.

The blonde opens the door and is surprised to find Hope standing outside, her hands on her jacket’s pockets as she takes in Lizzie’s appearance. “Were you snorting flour?”

“Huh?” Lizzie asks, confused and affronted, and Hope takes one of her hands out of her pocket and motions wiping her own face, and Lizzie self-consciously takes her hand to her cheek and feels the coat of flour on it. She wipes it quickly and then clears her throat, trying to gather some of her dignity that’s left, “I’m just making cupcakes for Pedro’s bake sale.”

Hope nods slowly, and then she looks over the blonde’s shoulder, “Can I… come in?”

“Oh, uh, sure,” Lizzie says after a moment, stepping back into the house and leaving the door open for Hope to follow her inside.

“Cool,” The auburn haired girl says before she steps inside after her, and Lizzie hears the sound of the door being closed behind her as Hope continues, “You know, usually cookies are way easier to make for a bake sale. Or brownies. Just saying.”

Lizzie doesn’t look up at her when she asks, one eyebrow raised, “And you know this why?”

“Because I bake?” Hope responds in tone of question. When Lizzie looks up at her with a surprised expression on her face, she frowns, “What?”

“ _ You _ bake?”

“Yeah?”

“Huh.” Lizzie shakes her head, the new tidbit surprising her.

“What?” Hope asks, confused, and before the blonde could answer, she continues, “Anyway, doesn’t matter. Does it have to be cupcakes?”

“Yeah, because that’s what Aunt Bonnie bought ingredients for.” Lizzie tells her, her tone final. Hope raises her hands in surrender and watches as Lizzie cracks an eggshell open. They’re in silence for a few minutes before Lizzie decides that enough is enough and asks, “So, what are you doing here?”

Lizzie looks up at Hope just in time to see her frown, “Did you not read my note? I’m taking you to Maya’s party.”

“I’m not going to that.”

“Uh, yeah, actually, you are,” Hope rebuts, “One, Alyssa will be there. Two, parties are in the contract. And plus, I know Josie is coming, so you don’t have that excuse.”

Lizzie gives her an apologetic - except it’s not apologetic, really, because she’s not sorry - smile and says, “Sorry, Hope, but I can’t.”

“A deal’s a deal, Lizzie.” Hope says seriously and Lizzie sighs. Before she could say anything in response, though, Stefan walks into the kitchen, his arrival going unnoticed by the two teens until he speaks up.

“You can’t what?” He asks curiously as he puts his work bag down. Then, when he sees who his daughter had been talking to, he smiles, “Hope Mikaelson?”

“Hi,” Hope greets the man with a small smile, and Lizzie watches as Stefan smiles brightly at her.

“Last time I saw you, you were… well, about the same height, actually,” He jokes. 

Lizzie gives him a mortified look and Hope chuckles under her breath, “Can’t say I haven’t heard that one before, Mr. Salvatore. But it’s good to see you again.”

“Call me Stefan, please.” Lizzie watches as Hope nods at her father as he gives her another smile, not exactly knowing how she felt about the scene before her. Before she can say anything, Hope throws a glance her way before she looks back at Stefan.

“I’m here to pick Lizzie up and take her to my friend’s party,” She starts, “Her mom will be home, and she’s literally the town sheriff. Plus, I’ll have her home early and before curfew. Is it okay if we go?”

“Of course,” Stefan says at the same time as Lizzie says, “nope.”

Hope and Stefan look at her, an expression of disbelief and one of confusion respectively on their faces. Lizzie shakes her head as she looks at her father, “I can’t go. I promised Aunt Bonnie I’d finish these cupcakes for Pedro, and Jo already backed out because of cheerleading practice.”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle some cupcake making better than you,” Stefan teases as he walks around the counter and stops behind Lizzie and puts two hands on her shoulders as he begins to push her away, “Why don’t you go have fun with your friend and leave your old man to it? Shower, get dressed, you look like Casper.”

Lizzie groans and tries to resist her father’s push, but he’s way stronger than she is and way more insistent on moving her from her spot as well, and Hope watches with amusement as Lizzie protests when he begins grunting, acting as if Lizzie was actually heavy.

Lizzie stops at the staircase when she hears her father addressing Hope in the kitchen, “So, are you two going as girlfriends or girl friends?”

“Um…”

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Rules are the same no matter what. No drinking, no drugs, no funny business and if Lizzie says no, it’s a  _ no _ . Got it?” Lizzie blushes and shakes her head, feeling absolutely mortified by Stefan yet again. She knows he means well - especially after what she had gone through with Sebastian -, but it still embarrassed her that Hope Mikaelson was getting the father talk. There’s silence for a second before Hope speaks up.

“You got it, sir.” 

“Good.” Lizzie exhales and makes the rest of the way up the stairs when she hears her father offering Hope something to drink while she waits for Lizzie.

* * *

“I don’t know, Hope, I think -” Lizzie starts as her and Hope make their way up the front steps of Maya’s house. The blonde can hear the muffled sound of the loud music playing from inside the house. 

Hope doesn’t let her finish, “Nope. We’re going. It’s in the contract.”

Lizzie sighs, and Hope gives her a look before she opens the door to her friend’s house and lets her in first before she steps in herself. The truth is, Lizzie was actually a little nervous. Crowds can sometimes set her episodes off, and walking in school with Hope’s hand on hers, or Hope’s hand on her pocket is one thing. But going to a party where she knows all of Hope’s jock friends will be in, not to mention Alyssa, is another thing. 

Lizzie is nervous, and she’d spent almost an hour in her room trying to decide on an outfit - settling on her favorite pair of her favorite high waisted pleated pants paired up with a simple, yet classy cropped sweater and finished up with the pair of Docs that Alyssa had labeled government issued ignorantly a few weeks ago. She thought she looked good enough for her very first high-school party, and she thinks Hope agreed with her, by the way the other girl had given her an once over and a nod as soon as she’d come down the stairs earlier.

Once Hope walks in and closes the door and before they could walk into the party, the auburn haired girl turns to her, “Are you ready?”

Lizzie bites her lip, and suddenly she wishes she’d had more time to do something better with her hair than just having it up in a ponytail. Maybe she could give it a quick braid? 

Deciding to take her chances, she takes her hands to her hair, and Hope’s eyes follow the movement, “What are you doing? Gimme that.”

She stands on her tippy toes to reach for Lizzie’s hair, and before the blonde could do anything to stop it, the other girl has her favorite scrunchie in her hands, and her hair is falling back again in un-brushed waves. 

“Give me that back.”

Hope hides her hair-tie behind her back when Lizzie tries to reach for it and shakes her head, “Nope. I’m keeping it. I like your hair down,” Hope watches as Lizzie begins to tame her hair with her fingers. She adds, “You look really pretty.”

Lizzie doesn’t believe her. Her hair is definitely a mess because she hasn’t brushed it in a day and had had it up for so long earlier when she was attempting to bake. Hope sighs when she notices Lizzie’s disbelieving expression and pulls her phone from her jacket, “I’ll prove it to you.”

Lizzie takes her hands to her face, trying to figure out the best way to block the camera from capturing her face, not exactly trusting Hope at the moment, and her hands are on her cheeks when Hope raises her phone to her and snaps a picture with a tiny smile on her face. “See?” She asks, turning her phone screen to her.

Lizzie guesses she doesn’t look  _ that  _ hideous.

“Fine,” she concedes with an exhale, “But you can’t lose it, okay? That’s my favorite scrunchie.”

Hope snaps the scrunchie on her wrist and responds, “Noted. Now give me your phone.”

“Why would I ever -”

“Would you  _ please  _ just trust me?”

Lizzie sighs and pulls out her phone from her pocket and hands it to the smaller girl. Hope raises the phone so the screen lights up and then slides the screen to the right for the camera. She raises the phone up on selfie mode and gives the camera a small smile that Lizzie thinks is kinda cute as she snaps a picture.

“Alright,” She says as she hands her the phone back, “You gotta make this your lock screen.”

“What’s  _ your  _ lock screen?” Lizzie asks as she takes her phone back, and Hope rolls her eyes.

“Come on, Lizzie, you know I already got it,” She pulls out her phone from her pocket again and turns the screen so Lizzie can see that the picture on the other girl’s lockscreen is a picture of Lizzie that the blonde is pretty sure Josie had posted on her Instagram Stories a few days ago. Lizzie feels something tugging in her heart at that, but instead of giving it much thought she just unlocks her phone and sets the selfie Hope had taken of herself as her lockscreen image.

Apparently satisfied with the new development and deciding that they had procrastinated enough, Hope holds out her hand for Lizzie to take and begins to pull her with her towards the party.

“Wait, I need to call my dad-”

Hope sounds almost amused when she says, “come on!” and pulls her harder.

Walking into the party with Hope is another experience. All eyes are on them as they make their way in, Lizzie’s body basically glued to Hope’s as their hands are clasped together, and Hope nods and greets a few people as they make their way through the crowded room.

Suddenly, Lizzie feels a rush of pride - Hope is here with  _ her.  _

Or, well. Technically, she’s here with Hope. But it doesn’t matter - the fact is: hers are the hand that Hope’s holding in front of all these people from their school.

Hope leads them towards one of the tables where she can see Maya and Landon playing beer pong with a few other people, and the couple stops by them just in time to see Maya take an impressive shot and cheer along with everyone around them.

The curly haired boy turns when he notices them, and he taps Maya’s shoulder twice before the girl is turning around and smiling when she sees them. 

“Hope, finally!” She exclaims, “We were wondering when you would get here. Ethan thought you bailed.”

Hope shook her head, “I had to stop by Lizzie’s first.”

Maya looks at the taller blonde by her friend’s side, as if just noticing her, and Lizzie’s instantly warmed by the smile that Maya gives her, “Oh, hey, girl! We were dying to meet you. Hope has told us  _ nothing  _ about you.”

Lizzie chuckles under her breath when she sees the pointed glare the girl gives the auburn haired girl, and she licks her lips before answering. “I’m Lizzie. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Maya,” She says, as if it’s necessary, and Lizzie likes that Maya’s apparently trying her best to make her feel at ease. And then she claps Landon on the shoulder and the boy coughs before he smiles and nods at Lizzie as Maya says, “This is Landon. We’re Hope’s best friends. Clearly Hope has been raised by wolves, because she was the one supposed to do these introductions.”

The blonde chuckles at the jab and Hope rolls her eyes.

“Maya, Landon, this is my girlfriend, Lizzie,” Hope says, her tone flat, “Lizzie, these are Maya and Landon, the goblins I call my best friends.”

“Now we’re talking,” Landon says for the first time, his smile teasing, and he holds out a hand for Lizzie, “Honored to meet the girl that saved Hope from a life filled with, well, Despair.”

“Fuck off, Landon.”

“Nice to meet you, Landon.” Lizzie says at the same time, and Landon gives her a smile, completely ignoring Hope’s offended expression.

“You’re Josie’s sister, aren’t you?” Landon asks, ignoring the eyeroll that Hope gives him and before Lizzie can answer, Hope turns to Lizzie.

“I’m gonna go grab something to drink. Want anything?”

“Sure,” Lizzie nods, and Hope raises one expectant eyebrow at her, “Surprise me?”

The auburn haired girl nods and she lingers beside Lizzie for a moment before she sends the duo in front of them a warning look before she walks away. Lizzie bites her lip as she watches Hope leave for a second, not exactly knowing what to expect now that she was left alone with Hope’s best friends.

“So, about Josie-”

“How did you two get together?” Maya asks at the same time, raising one hand to shut Landon up. “I mean, it was all so sudden I’m not sure Hope even told me y’all were talking like that.”

Lizzie pauses. Right.

The get-together story.

The blonde rummages through her head for something, anything, and she curses herself and Hope mentally for not thinking of it earlier. It had totally slipped her mind that people would probably be interested in how they’ve gotten together and how Lizzie had managed to whisk Hope away from Alyssa, one of the school’s most popular girls, so easily.

“Um, it was really sudden, for sure,” Lizzie begins to improvise, and then a memory hits her almost instantly and she continues, “I actually almost hit Hope with my car during the first week of school and we kind of… started talking,” She’s not exactly lying; that  _ had  _ been how things had happened, even if she was leaving some crucial informations out, “And, I mean… We were each other’s first kisses, so… You know.”

She finishes with a shrug, and Landon raises one eyebrow as Maya nods, seemingly remembering that piece of information, “Oh, right! I totally forgot about that. Seventh grade, right?”

Lizzie nods.

“Well, that’s a cute story,” Maya says, and Landon nods, “I’m still pissed that Hope didn’t tell us jack, but it’s cute. You guys look cute together.

That comment coming from Maya, Hope’s best friend since forever, kind of warms Lizzie up a bit and she feels a slight blush making its way to her cheeks. She writes it off as contentment that they apparently were managing to pull this whole thing off, but deep down she knew that that was not the reason why that meant so much to her. She smiles, and Maya smiles back.

“So, um, about Josie -” Landon begins to ask, and Lizzie looks at him expectantly as Maya sighs. “Is she seeing anyo-”

Before he can finish his question, though, a voice to their right and across the room calls for Lizzie’s name, and the three look over to find Alyssa and one of her friends, a girl with light brown hair that Lizzie doesn’t actually know the name of looking at her with unsettling smiles that the blonde thinks are supposed to look inviting.

The girl that Lizzie doesn’t know the name of waves her over as she practically shouts over the music, “Come sit with us!”

Lizzie looks from them to Maya and Landon nervously, her expression clearly showing that she’d much rather die than join the other duo, and Maya gives her an encouraging nod, “Go on. We’ll be watching in case they act up.”

“Yeah, Lizzie, don’t worry,” Landon adds with a smile, “Alyssa knows better than to start something here, so you’re fine.” He says when Lizzie begins to turn, and the certainty in the boy’s voice as he says this is enough to ease up Lizzie’s concerns of actually being physically attacked by Alyssa Chang on a Saturday evening.

The blonde tries to find Hope in the midst of the low-lit room and all of the moving bodies surrounding her as she makes her way towards the two girls, but no such luck. She sighs and sits on the couch, not too close but not too far from Alyssa and her friend and forces a fake smile out of her face. She’s had enough interactions with Alyssa over the years that this is basically routine by now, and she’s thankful that her nervousness at having to interact with Hope’s ex without the auburn haired girl beside her for the first time doesn’t ruin that. Alyssa ignores her as her friend turns to Lizzie with a grin that seems just as fake as Lizzie’s.

She leans forward, “So, what’s up with you and Mikaelson?”

Lizzie knows that she’s doing Alyssa’s dirty work. She knows she’s asking because Alyssa asked her to, but a quick glance towards the other girl shows her that Alyssa is trying to appear casual as she sips her drink, as if all she has is harmless curiosity. Lizzie doesn’t let it fool her - she knows she’s waiting for the answer.

Lizzie shrugs, “Whatever Hope says, I suppose.”

Her tone is light and easy, and Lizzie thinks she does a good job of answering that this time around. It’s not a perfect answer by any means, but it’s a solid one when delivered without hesitation. 

Alyssa’s friend waves her answer off, though, as if it’s not good enough for her. Lizzie is aware that it’s actually not good enough for Alyssa. “Yeah, yeah, but we want to hear it from you.”

Lizzie glances at Alyssa for a split second, but the other girl notices it and rolls her eyes good naturedly, as if she thinks Lizzie is silly for taking her feelings into account. But the gesture is clearly fabricated, and Lizzie definitely doesn’t care about Alyssa’s feelings.

“Come on, Lizzie, you can say it. It’s okay. Hope and I are over,” Alyssa says, her tone light, “I don’t know if she told you this, but I was the one to break up with her.”

Lizzie nods, “She did.”

Except she didn’t. Kaleb had been the one to tell her that while he made fun of Hope in her presence.

“So, what’s up with you two? When did you guys get together?” Alyssa asks, trying to sound offhand, like she’s a friend asking another friend about their love life. Lizzie doesn’t buy it. She’s aware that whatever she says next matters to the other girl.

“Pretty recently.”

“How recently?”

“Right after school started,” Lizzie responds, and her tone changes to make it seem like she was trying to respect Alyssa’s feelings, “A few days after you guys…” Lizzie trails off, and Alyssa seems to get the message.

“Right,” she nods, and there’s something about her tone and the look on her face that Lizzie can’t quite pinpoint. She waits, and Alyssa gives her a forced smile, “Well, I think you guys are adorable.”

“You do?” Lizzie asks, raising one eyebrow. She wasn’t expecting that. She’d known and interacted with the other girl for long enough to know that, much like herself, Alyssa could be pretty mean and vicious when she wanted to be. And even though they had been civil to each other so far in this specific interaction, even if faking it, she hadn’t expected to get complimented by the other girl.

Oh, Alyssa was  _ good.  _

She nods, “Of course!”

Her friend gives her a smile that looks just as fake as Alyssa’s, and Lizzie nods slowly before she gives them one of her own fake smiles.

“Well,” Alyssa says as she moves to stand, “I’m gonna go get a refill. Can I get you anything?”

Lizzie’s surprised to see that the question is directed at her. She doesn’t let it show, though, and shakes her head slowly as she gives Alyssa a small smile, “No, thank you. Hope’s already getting me something.”

Alyssa nods, and before she could say anything or react, a voice coming from behind Lizzie stops her, “Hey, babe.”

Lizzie turns her head and exhales in relief when she sees Hope walking around the couch, two solo cups in her hands as she moves to sit really close to Lizzie on the couch, moving so one of her legs is over Lizzie’s as she completely ignores Alyssa and her friend, who are watching her expectantly.

When it’s clear that Hope won’t give them the time of day, her eyes solely focused on Lizzie as she hands her a cup, the blonde hears a humph from where Alyssa was standing and turns her head just in time to watch the girl and her friend walk away.

Lizzie takes a sip of the drink she’s been offered and makes a face, wincing at the taste and looking inside the cup in disgust, “Why’s this taste like vinegar?”

Hope looks at her, then, and she gives her an apologetic smile as she reaches for her drink to switch it for the one she’s holding, “Sorry, that’s my drink.”

Lizzie frowns, “What is that?”

“Kombucha?” Hope says in a tone of questioning, and when Lizzie makes a face, she actually laughs. “I thought you liked that stuff.”

“Why?”

“Aren’t you always drinking tea and like, eating gluten free food?” Hope asks, “I swear, I’ve only ever seen you eating veggies and stuff like that during lunchtime. Plus, I think MG mentioned once that you were trying to go vegan.”

Lizzie doesn’t comment on the fact that Hope seemingly pays enough attention to her that she knows these small details from Lizzie’s life, and decides to keep the matter at hand. “Not Kombucha, though. And I didn’t expect you to drink it.”

“I’m driving, remember?” Hope shrugs, “Besides, it’s supposed to be good for you. I try to keep it relatively healthy because of soccer and everything.”

Lizzie nods. That made sense. But still, it’s an unexpected and somewhat endearing new fact about the auburn haired girl and she gives Hope a tiny smile when she takes a sip from her drink. 

They’re silent for a moment, and when Lizzie begins to ask her if she’d seen Josie anywhere, Hope pulls out her phone from her jacket again and says, “Here, let’s take another picture.”

“You like taking pictures, don’t you?” Lizzie asks while Hope unlocks her phone, and the auburn haired girl glances up at her before glancing back at her phone as she opens the camera app and puts it on selfie mode and raises her arm up at a good angle. 

Ignoring her question, she says, “Do something cute.”

Lizzie acts on instinct and leans over so she’s pressing her lips to Hope’s cheek, and the auburn haired girl grins at the camera as she snaps the picture. Then, she moves her arms a bit so she can take another picture and Lizzie smiles and Hope snaps another picture.

“Perfect,” Hope says, putting her arm down, and Lizzie watches as she opens the pictures on another app and begins to fiddle with it. They’re quiet for a moment as Hope focuses on what she’s doing before she locks her phone and puts it back on her pocket, “And to answer your question, I do like taking pictures. Painting, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Hope nods and takes another sip of her drink, “I just got a new camera and everything.”

Lizzie processes that information. She didn’t know that about Hope. But then again, she actually didn’t know Hope like that. 

“That’s nice,” Lizzie says, finally, and Hope gives her an amused look. “What?”

“Nothing.” Hope shakes her head, but she looks like she’s trying not to laugh. Lizzie shrugs and takes a sip of her drink. When she makes a face and glances inside her cup again, Hope actually loses it.

“Yeah, that doesn’t taste any better, does it?”

“No,” Lizzie responds, “Can I have a sip of that?”

Hope looks from the cup in her hands to Lizzie and laughs again.

* * *

Hope excuses herself a little later to go to the bathroom, and Lizzie stands up from the couch, ready to start looking for her twin sister that was supposedly here as well. She barely makes it across the room before someone grabs her shoulders, and she jumps and turns around quickly only to smile when she finds MG looking at her with a big grin.

“Hey,” MG greets.

“Hi!” Lizzie greets back, relieved to see a familiar face, “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Well, here I am, m’lady,” MG says, giving her a shrug, and Lizzie chuckles, “So, you and Hope, huh? She get a letter too?” He asks, teasing, and Lizzie groans.

“I swear to God, Milton -”

“Nah, nah, I’m just playin’. I totally knew you had a crush on me, though. I’m cute like that.” He gives her a cocky grin as he dusts off his jacket and Lizzie rolls her eyes, not being able to help her smile, “But for real though. Did she get a letter too?”

Lizzie bites her lip, “Yeah, she did, but you better keep your mouth shut about it.” 

“I ain’t even tell Kaleb anything and it’s been a  _ week,  _ Liz. You know I got you,” He winks, and then he looks around, “Where is she, though?”

“Um, she just went to the bathroom.” Lizzie says, motioning towards the staircase that leads upstairs and MG raises his eyebrows when he turns his eyes in that direction. Lizzie frowns and follows his eyesight, and she manages to catch Alyssa watching them before she turns her attention to somewhere else.

“Creepy,” MG shudders, and he chuckles when Lizzie hums in agreement, “She give you a hard time?”

“Subtly,” Lizzie responds. “So, are you here with Jo?”

“Hm? Oh, no. I mean, I did drive her here. But I ain’t  _ with  _ her,” MG struggles to say and Lizzie waits with amusement in her eyes, “I’m here with Kym. And Kaleb, sorta. But he’s with Jed. So. I don’t actually know, to be honest.”

Lizzie nods, amusement intact. “Oh?”

“Don’t start,” MG says, and Lizzie laughs under her breath, “Kym walked off with Josie to talk to some people. Kaleb and Jed are… somewhere. I’m here with you.”

“That’s a real long way to just say you’re here with the gang, MG.” 

“Shut up, I’m kinda buzzed on this drink. You ever try this? It’s orange juice and vodka.”

“Yeah, MG, everyone has.” 

“This slaps,” MG chuckles and takes a sip. Then, he turns to her and asks her about her literature presentation for the next week and they get so caught up in their discussion about the book they had been assigned to read that they don’t notice it when Alyssa makes her way upstairs, sending a furtive glance in Lizzie’s direction to make sure that she was distracted enough.

* * *

“Go on, try it.”

MG sniffs the cup, “I’m not about to lie to you, Liz, but this legit smells like somebody’s ass.”

Lizzie laughs as MG eyes the cup that Lizzie had been holding for Hope that’s half-filled with Kombucha and laughs again when he makes another disgusted face. 

“C’mon, Milton, bottoms up.” She says encouragingly, voice filled with laughter, and MG takes the cup tentatively up to his lips. Lizzie is thoroughly amused now, and that’s how Hope finds them.

“Hey, I think I’m ready to call it a night. You ready to leave?” She asks as a greeting, and before Lizzie could answer her, her attention is taken by the sound of MG gagging. She looks back at him and laughs as she watches him spit the drink back to the cup. When he notices Hope, he looks from Lizzie to her quickly before he settles on meeting his friend’s eyes. 

“Oh, go ahead. Go, go,” He waves her away, and Lizzie hesitates.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, Liz. Go,” He nods, “I’ve gotta go clean my mouth after this and find Kym anyway. Don’t worry ‘bout me.”

“Alright.” Lizzie says, giving him a smile and begins to walk towards Hope, “Bye, MG!”

“Bye, I’m gon’ get you back for this!” MG calls from behind her and Lizzie takes Hope’s hand as she laughs and allows herself to be pulled away. The auburn haired girl is watching her with a little smile and she gives her a smile back.

* * *

They’re sitting in silence as Hope begins to drive away from Maya’s house a few minutes later, and it’s another minute before Hope finally speaks up, “Did Alyssa ask you anything?”

“She asked me when we got together,” Lizzie recalls, and Hope nods at her to go on, “That was basically it. She was being extra friendly and even said we’re cute together.”

Hope shakes her head before she gives Lizzie a quick smile, “Well, she’s jealous. So, good job.”

“Thanks,” Lizzie says, and they’re silent again before Lizzie speaks up, “I didn’t actually expect her to act so…”

“Friendly?” Hope finishes for her, and when Lizzie nods, she rolls her eyes, “That’s the calm before the storm. It’s all fake smiles and friendliness before she just… steamrolls over you if you don’t keep your guard up.”

“She sounds like a fun person to date,” Lizzie comments and Hope chuckles humorlessly.

“She has her moments,” Hope shrugs, “But sometimes it’s just… Like, that one day she was being a bitch about your shoes.”

“You remember that?” Lizzie asks, surprised. Hope doesn’t look away from the road as she nods.

“Yeah, of course,” She responds, “I couldn’t say anything then because we were together and everything, but I just don’t really understand what the big deal was. I thought your shoes were hot.”

Lizzie smiles, and Hope doesn’t give her time to thank her for the compliment before she continues, “Alyssa is gorgeous and has a great sense of style, but I always thought your style was really cool. Like, it’s just…  _ you _ , you know? So I just don’t understand why Alyssa would make fun of it.”

Lizzie flushes, thoroughly pleased by the compliment and very thankful that the car was dark enough so that Hope wouldn’t notice her blushing as she thanked her. Lizzie considers fashion to be one of the most important things in the world - it’s how a person expresses oneself, the first thing that people see when you walk into a room. It’s important, and she loves expressing herself through her clothes. She tries to put a bit of her personality in every outfit she wears, and it always makes her happy when someone tells her that she likes her sense of fashion.

Hope smiles at her, and they’re silent again for another few minutes while Lizzie lets her mind wander. Before she knows it, a question strikes in her mind and she’s voicing it out loud before she even gets to second guess it, as per usual. 

“How did you know you loved her?”

“God, why do you always have to ask these kinds of questions?” Hope asks with a groan, and Lizzie shrugs.

“I’m just a naturally curious person,” She says, and then, “Why do you look scared to answer my question?”

“I’m not scared,” Hope grumbles.

“Then answer my question.”

Hope goes silent for a moment, and Lizzie thinks she’s just going to let her question hang in the air until they get to Lizzie’s home. When Lizzie is sure that Hope is not going to give her an answer, Hope speaks up. 

“I don’t know if I ever loved her. I don’t even know if I know what that’s supposed to feel like. I’m only seventeen.”

“Seventeen is not that young to be in love,” Lizzie shakes her head, “People used to get married at  _ sixteen. _ ”

“Yeah, a hundred years ago,” Hope rebuts quickly, “When there was no internet or electricity and dudes that were barely eighteen went to wars and all that. They lived a lot of life by the time they were sixteen, so it’s not the same,” Hope says, “What do kids our age know about love and life, really?”

Lizzie is silent for a moment - not because she doesn’t have an answer, but because she’s never seen Hope speaking like this before. Like she actually cares and believes passionately in what she’s saying. Gone are all the smirks and teasing glances, and instead Lizzie is looking at a frowning Hope Mikaelson, as if she’s actually interested in what Lizzie has to say to that.

“You sound like my grandpa,” Lizzie says, and Hope rolls her eyes. The blonde continues, “And I think you’re stalling because you don’t want to answer my question.”

“I did answer your question, though. It just wasn’t what you wanted to hear.”

Hope pulls up in front of Lizzie’s house and turns off the engine, and Lizzie is well versed in getting rides from Hope since the day they started this whole thing to know that this was something that Hope did whenever she wanted to talk for a little while longer, so she doesn’t get out of the car right away. Instead, she turns a bit on the seat and watches as Hope leans her head back against the headrest of her seat and closes her eyes.

“She’s really got a hold on you, huh?” Lizzie says, not exactly asks, and her tone isn’t unkind. It’s just a simple observation.

Lizzie expects Hope to deny the statement, to roll her eyes and wave her off, but instead, the auburn haired girl sighs tiredly and says, “I wish she didn’t. I don’t want to be owned by anyone. Or belong to anyone.”

Lizzie thinks about that for a second as she watches the way the moonlight reflects on Hope’s skin. Her mother had taught her and Josie that they should belong to themselves, first and foremost. But Lizzie likes to think that she belongs to her family. Especially with their tumultuous history, she finds comfort in that simple statement. She belongs to them. She belongs with them.

And she guesses that part of her has always dreamed of one day belonging to someone else. To be theirs just as much as they were hers. 

She had thought she had that with Sebastian, and it didn’t end too well for her, so she guesses she sees Hope’s point, as well.

“That’s why you’re doing this,” Lizzie picks up conversation again, and she’s not exactly asking her this, either. “To prove that you don’t belong to or with her,” when Hope nods, she raises an eyebrow, “do you think there’s a difference?”

Hope shrugs, “I think one implies you have a choice; the other doesn’t.”

That makes sense to Lizzie. But still.

“You must really love her to be going through all of this trouble.”

Hope waves her off, “I think you romanticize everything.”

“Maybe,” Lizzie shrugs, not really seeing that as an insult. “Thanks,” she adds, just to mess with the other girl. Hope grunts.

“Anyway, what do you even know about this stuff?” Hope asks, her tone bordering on bitter at having been read so easily by the other girl, “Have  _ you  _ ever been in love?”

“Yeah, that’s kind of why I’m doing this, remember?”

Hope snorts, “Right. With Sebastian, right?”

“What’s with the mockery?” Lizzie frowns.

“Nothing, just… Sebastian, really?”

“Alyssa,  _ really _ ?”

Hope squints at her, “You sure do have a lot of opinions, don’t you?”

“No duh, Mikaelson,” Lizzie gives her a grin, “I just think that you think that because no one’s ever been honest with you before.”

Hope chuckles and shakes her head, “Clearly you didn’t spend enough time with Maya and Landon tonight.”

Lizzie chuckles in response to that, recalling one of the very first things Landon had told her when they were introduced. She guesses Hope had a point there. 

They’re quiet for another moment before Hope speaks up again, “So… you and Sebastian. Did you love him? Why did it end?”

Her tone isn’t biting or anything, just curious. Lizzie shrugs, “I think I was in love with him. And I guess he loved me too much, or not enough. I don’t know.”

Lizzie stops talking, then, and she looks up when Hope makes a sound next to her. She sees the auburn haired girl giving her an expectant look. “Go on. You gotta talk to me, now. It’s your turn to be honest.”

Lizzie sighs and looks out the window for a moment. She hadn’t talked to Sebastian in actual months, still hell-bent in avoiding the boy and his calls. 

She glances back at Hope and finds the girl watching, waiting. She exhales. “I guess… I was scared.”

Hope frowns, “Of Sebastian?”

“Yeah,” Lizzie admits, “Well, sort of.” She pauses, trying to find the words. “I guess… I don’t know, with my problems I kinda just… never expected someone to see me that way. You know? I mean like, really  _ see  _ me. Sebastian was the first person to do that. And the way he acted and talked to me… Sometimes it felt like he wanted me to believe that he would be the only person to ever do that. That I was lucky I had him. And sometimes I believed him. And here’s the thing: Love and dating? I love to read about it, and it’s fun to write and think about it, but… when it’s real… when it’s not just thinking about a person, when it’s an actual real person standing in front of you with expectations and wants, telling you that he’s the only one who’s ever gonna see you…” She trails off again, and she’s surprised when she meets Hope’s eyes again and notices that her blue eyes are intent and focused, as if she’s paying close attention to what she’s saying, clear and sincere interest in her expression.

“It’s scary.” Hope finishes for her, and Lizzie nods.

“Yeah,” She agrees in a self-conscious whisper. She hasn’t really ever shared that with anyone else before - not even her mother or Josie.

“Why?” Hope asks curiously, as if she genuinely wants to know.

“Because the more people you let into your life, the more people hold power over you and your emotions,” Lizzie is quick to respond this time, and the look on Hope’s face tells Lizzie that she knows exactly what she means.

Hope watches her in silence for a moment before she speaks up, her voice still gentle, “Did you know that my dad left us?”

Lizzie nods.

“That was a while ago, right?” 

Hope nods, “Two summers ago,” she looks away then, towards the dashboard of her car and continues, “He’s got a new wife now. She’s a doctor.”

Lizzie feels the heaviness in her chest and says, her tone as sincere as possible, “I’m so sorry.”

“No, no. It’s fine, it’s… I just don’t usually talk about it,” Hope says, looking up at her again, “I just felt like maybe you’d understand because… well, um, ‘cause of your dad. Not that it’s anywhere near the same thing…”

She sounds really nervous all of sudden, as if afraid that she was overstepping, and Lizzie shakes her head and gives her a reassuring smile. “No, it’s fine. I completely understand.”

Hope nods and gives her a smile, as if relieved. If she’s relieved that she hadn’t offended Lizzie or that Lizzie understood she wasn’t sure, but Lizzie decides to continue, “It just sucks, doesn’t it?”

Hope shrugs, “It’s whatever.”

Lizzie bites her lip slightly at that. She doesn’t usually like to think or talk about her father’s passing, but she knew that it wasn’t because she didn’t care. She just didn’t like to be reminded of it because she knew how much it still affected her. She didn’t act like it didn’t happen or it doesn’t matter, she just didn’t make it become something that consumed her in the way she knows grief can consume someone if they let it.

“We don’t have to talk about it, but it’s not whatever.” Lizzie says lightly, softly, reassuring. Hope looks at her for a moment, and Lizzie watches as she tries to hold back a smile.

The look in her eyes is soft when she says, “I think it’s funny, you say that you’re scared of relationships, but you don’t seem to be afraid with me.”

“Oh, well, there’s no reason to be afraid.”

“Yeah?” Hope asks, leaning forward slightly, that teasing smirk that Lizzie’s so used to beginning to appear on her face again, “And why’s that?”

“Because this is just pretend.” Lizzie shrugs.

“Right,” Hope nods, leaning back again. Lizzie thinks she sees Hope’s smirk disappear for a second before it comes back, “Was just making sure you remembered.”

“I do,” Lizzie nods. They’re in silence again, and it’s comfortable.

“Hey, can I ask you something? Since you like being honest with me,” Hope speaks up, and there’s something about her tone and the curious grin on her face that makes Lizzie nod at her go go on, “What did you ever see in me?”

The question sounds like it’s teasing - like Hope’s cocky and sure of her charm. Like the usual Hope that Lizzie knew. The Hope that smirked too much, and rolled her eyes too much, and acted like she was above self-doubt. That’s the reason why Lizzie says with a frown, “I really couldn’t tell you.”

The grin on Hope’s face falters again, and when it comes back, it doesn’t look like it belongs there. She licks her lips, “You, um… You said it was because I made you feel special. And um, that I’m good at drawing and stuff.”

Lizzie eyes her curiously for a moment, recalling writing those words on her letter back in middle school. She gives Hope her own smirk when she says, “You sure memorized every word of that letter, huh?”

There’s a surge of satisfaction when Hope’s teasing grin disappears from her face at that, and it quickly turns into remorse when Lizzie realizes that she’s just hurt Hope’s feelings for no good reason. She bites her lip and thinks of a way to make it better. After a second, she adds, “No, I mean, it’s true. What I wrote - you did have something about you then.”

Lizzie thinks she’s made it worse, then, because Hope flinches before she gives her a humorless chuckle. The blonde is confused by that, and she doesn’t know what else to say to possibly make it better. Josie was the twin with emotional maturity, not her. Hope doesn’t wait for her to figure it out.

“Right, well. I can count on you to be honest, always.” she says, and there’s a bite to her tone that Lizzie doesn’t really like. It doesn’t feel right, especially not when it’s directed at her.

The silence between them is now awkward, and Lizzie doesn’t really know what she could possibly say to make this situation any better. She doesn’t know if the problem is with what she said, she doesn’t know what is going on inside the redhead’s mind, but before she leaves the car, she just has to ask.

“Are we cool?”

Hope nods way too quickly for it to be a sincere response, “Yeah, we’re fine, Saltzman.”

Lizzie bites her lip as she reaches for the door handle, and before she leaves, she just has to say something - “Um, thanks for the ride.”

Hope nods and doesn’t look her way as she says, “Yeah, thanks for coming to the party.”

Lizzie nods, and when Hope doesn’t look at her or say anything else, she climbs out of the car, a weird feeling forming in her chest that doesn’t really leave her for the rest of the night and only really gets worse when she checks her phone and finds that she’s been tagged in a new post on Instagram.

She unlocks her phone, opens the app and waits for a moment for the screen to load, biting her lip when she looks at the picture Hope had posted of them and tagged her in. She posted the two pictures they had taken on the couch at the party earlier that night, and the only things in the caption were emojis of a cupcake, a drink, a flashing camera and a blushing smiley face.

Lizzie finds that she’s holding her breath when she comments a few pink heart emojis a few times after liking the picture, and she finds that she’s exhaling and grinning to her screen when Hope immediately replies to her comment with a heart eyes emoji. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy! til next update!!
> 
> if u wanna talk 2 me bout this fic or just scream bout hizzie and legacies find me @ sofiascarson on tumblr xx


	4. do you fancy sitting down with me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! we are approaching the last chapter buuuuuuut this chapter is filled w hizzie and also a few someones make an appearance <3  
> thank u so much for the feedback on the last few chapters! they all mean a lot to me, and i hope you guys like this one! 
> 
> title of the chapter is from fallingforyou by the 1975.

As the weeks roll around, Lizzie finds that fake dating Hope is getting easier and easier. She always ate with her in the cafeteria, she was becoming friends with Hope’s friends, and Hope’s friends were becoming friends with Lizzie’s friends. Landon and Josie were getting closer, and even though Josie wouldn’t admit it to her twin, Lizzie knew that she was growing fond of the curly haired boy with the bright smile that Hope called her best-friend and was so clearly into Josie. Kym and MG would join them, as well, and by default, Kaleb did too. And Kaleb joining them meant that Jed would, as well, as his friendship with Kaleb had turned more solid over the weeks since the party — Lizzie thinks that there’s something going on between them, but Kaleb won’t say anything.

And Hope took lots and lots of pictures of her, and sometimes she would draw her. Most of her time would be spent by Hope’s side, and people had stopped gawking at them whenever they’d walk through the halls holding hands. 

And, well, even though some things had become easier for her to deal with, Lizzie still had a lot on her mind to worry about. (Didn’t she always?)

She’s still avoiding Sebastian, _obvi_. And whenever Sebastian manages to get her by herself on the rare occasions that she doesn’t have Hope by her side, Lizzie’s always making an excuse to scurry off and, well, meet Hope. 

She texts her mom a few times over the weeks, but she finds it impossible to actually hold a conversation with her through Skype calls or anything with actual substance because she couldn’t bring herself to actually actively lie to her about everything that’s been going on in her life — even if, with that, she decides to lie by omission. So, instead, she lets Josie lead the conversations and only really speaks up when she’s spoken to.

Whenever her mother asks her how she’s been, she pauses, smiles, and says that “things are fine, mom. Nothing much going on. MG says hi. How’s the documentary going?” and avoids Josie’s questioning eyes as her mother begins to respond.

* * *

“What’s your favorite song?” Lizzie asks Hope one afternoon while the auburn haired jock is driving her back home. Josie isn’t on the backseat this time, having stayed behind because of after-school cheerleading practice. 

“I have a lot of favorite songs.” Hope says.

Lizzie shakes her head, “That’s not an acceptable answer.”

“Well, but it is.” She shrugs, and she chuckles when Lizzie gives her an aggravated sigh, “Fine. I like Dream A Little Dream of Me.”

“Ella Fitzgerald version?” Lizzie asks, Hope nods. “Hm.”

“Why does it sound like you’re judging me?” 

“I’m not!” Lizzie defends, “Just…”

“What?” Hope rolls her eyes.

“I just didn’t expect you to say a 50s song. That’s all.”

“Well, that’s fair, I guess,” Hope shrugs, “But I listen to a lot of 50s music. Anything Jazz, really. Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday…”

“Really?” Lizzie asks, surprise in her voice. Hope glances at her with a small smile and nods.

“Yeah. Um, I’m originally from New Orleans. I grew up on that stuff.”

“Huh,” Lizzie nods, “That makes sense.”

Hope chuckles lightly, then, amused by the way her answer had surprised the blonde in the passenger seat, and they fall into comfortable silence for a moment.

“What about you?” Hope asks then. 

“Oh, I don’t have a favorite song. I like way too many.” She responds, and Hope laughs loudly. Lizzie smiles brightly at her.

* * *

On a day that Josie stays home sick, Hope is late to pick her up. Lizzie checks the time at least twice in fifteen minutes, and when she’s about to start getting really impatient with the other girl, the jeep pulls over in front of her house and Lizzie all but runs towards it and hops inside. Before she can even say anything (and trust her, there was a _lot_ she wanted to say), Hope beats her to it.

“I know, I know. I’m late. But look what I brought you.”

She passes Lizzie a slice of key lime pie in a transparent to-go box, and before Lizzie could question her, she continues, “I stopped by the Mystic Grill. Managed to catch ‘em just as they opened for the day, so the pie’s fresh out of the oven.”

Lizzie grins and opens the to-go box carefully, taking the small plastic fork inside and taking a piece off it.

“Wonderful,” She hums, and Hope gives her a sidelong glance as she begins to pull out of Lizzie’s driveway.

“So am I forgiven for being late?”

“Your heart was in the right place,” Lizzie nods seriously. Hope grins. “Hey, do you have any water?”

“Um, no, but I think there’s still coffee in my cup on the holder,” Hope answers as she focuses on the road. Lizzie looks down and sees that the auburn haired girl was right, and she looks up to find that Hope isn’t looking at her.

“Um, may I?”

“Oh, yeah, go ahead.” Hope nods, and Lizzie takes a gulp from the girl’s coffee. Putting it back, she takes another bite off her pie and sighs.

“I swear, this is the best key lime pie on the planet.”

Hope chuckles, “I was hoping you’d say that.”

“Why?” Lizzie frowns confusedly at that.

Hope looks at her for a second before she turns her attention back on the road, and Lizzie can see a flush growing on her face, “Well. I may or may have not lied about getting it from the Grill. I just wanted the option to blame someone else if you didn’t like it.”

Lizzie gapes at her and Hope chances a look at her on the red stop. Her expression is apprehensive, as if she thought Lizzie would be mad at her for lying.

“So… you made this for me?” Lizzie asks slowly, just for confirmation. Hope nods once and bites her lip. “How’d you…”

“Um, Josie told me. And I remember your order from that day. And um, I know you’ve been worried about your exams this week, so…”

“So you baked my favorite dessert?”

Hope nods once more, somewhat shy, and Lizzie can’t help but grin widely as she feels her stomach do a few flips at the gesture. She’s not sure what to say, honestly, so she just leans over and deposits a small peck to Hope’s cheek. 

She doesn’t mention it when she sees that Hope hasn’t stopped grinning and her cheeks are flushed the whole way to school. 

* * *

Hope invites her to come with her to this estate sale on a Saturday. She says that her mother wanted her to pick up a set of rare chairs for her antique store, and that the trip would be boring and it would be good for their scheme. Neither mentions that the fair is in a town that’s almost three hours away from Mystic Falls, where it was extremely likely that no one from their town - especially not their high school - would even think about going to that, especially not during the weekend. Lizzie thinks Hope was well aware that the trip together wouldn’t really do anything for their situation, but decides not to question it.

She guesses that they’re friends now, or something close to that. Spending time with Hope isn’t so bad, so she accepts the invitation readily and they go together and it’s fun - they listen to music on the way there (50s jazz and Motown, the latter being Lizzie’s favorite genre of music, surprising Hope), they make conversation and laugh and it’s peaceful.

When they get to their destination and Hope is off looking around for the “damned chairs” they were there for in the first place, Lizzie walks around and looks through the things exposed. She’s sifting through a box filled with crystals and thinking about how her and Josie had been looking for new ones - if there was one thing the twins shared interest in, was crystals and its healing properties - when Hope comes up behind her minutes later.

“Did you get the chairs?” Lizzie asks.

“I did,” Hope nods, and then, “See anything cool?”

Lizzie nods, holding up a piece of a shiny amethyst rock, her personal favorite, and says, “I love these.”

Hope looks at it with studious eyes, “You’re into crystals?”

“Yeah. Josie too,” Lizzie says, “We kinda collect these and we carry a few around in our bags. Aunt Bonnie got us into them when we were younger, so now every time we find one, we try to take them with us. How much do you think these cost?”

Hope glances at the box, “I’m not sure. Probably not a lot since they’re here with all of these knick-knacks. Do you want me to go and ask while you look for the good ones?”

“You’d do that?”

Hope gives her a look, “Yeah, Lizzie, obviously.”

“Could you ask, then, please?”

“Alright. I’ll be right back,” Lizzie nods and turns her attention back to the box. Once she finds a few crystals that she thinks Josie would like and a few that she likes herself, Hope returns with a grin, “The man said that he doesn’t really care about the crystals, really, and he forgot they were even there.”

“So? How much?”

“Did you not just hear me? He said he doesn’t care. Plus, with the fortune my mom paid for those chairs, he said that we can just take them as a bonus.”

Lizzie squints, “Are you lying?”

Hope rolls her eyes, “Dude, why would I lie about that? Do you wanna go ahead and ask him yourself?”

Lizzie studies her for a second, and when Hope only looks back at her with annoyance because Lizzie doesn’t seem to trust her, she nods, “Alright. But if I get the cops knocking on my door because I took this box home with me, you’ll be hearing from my mother.”

Hope snorts and Lizzie grabs the box with her two hands and holds it to her chest carefully. With one last glance at the man that had sold Hope the chairs and finding him only watching them with a smile, not looking exactly mad that Lizzie was clearly taking something from him, she decides that maybe she could try and start trusting Hope a little bit more.

* * *

Lizzie falls asleep on the drive home, and the next thing she knows, she’s waking up to Hope softly shaking her shoulder as she says, “We’re here.”

Lizzie opens her eyes and looks around for a second and realizes that they’re parked in her driveway. She sits up straight and rolls her shoulder a bit as she feels Hope’s eyes on her. Lizzie glances at the box on her lap for a moment and smiles, “Thanks for today, Hope. I had fun.”

“Thanks for tagging along,” Hope says with a smile of her own on her face, and then she slaps her forehead as if just remembering something, “Oh, shit. I totally forgot to mention - my mom wants you to come over tomorrow night for dinner.”

Lizzie squints against the 4PM sunlight that’s creeping inside Hope’s car, and she notes that Hope’s hair looks fiery in this light and her skin gleams golden; almost like autumn embodied in a person. She wants to lean closer and see if Hope smells like cinnamon. She decides then that it’s better to focus on the matter at hand, instead.

“You told your mom about us?”

“Well, Josie knows about us!” Hope says as she gives her a dirty look, and then, “Besides… my mom and I are close. It’s just the two of us, so… I don’t know. If you don’t wanna come, you don’t have to. But um, it’d be nice if you did. Because my mom wants to meet you. And, well, um… I kinda want you to meet her, too.” 

She looks almost shy when she adds the last part, and Lizzie nods slowly, “No, yeah, I’ll come. It’s just, well… It’s just that the more people that know, the harder it is to manage. You have to keep your lies restricted to as few people as possible.”

Hope eyes her weirdly, “How do you know so much about that stuff?”

Lizzie shrugs, “I don’t know. My mom’s an investigative reporter. You pick up on a few things.”

Hope nods slowly at this, and Lizzie thinks that Hope looks really pretty when she’s amused at something Lizzie has said.

Not that it matters.

But, you know.

She does.

* * *

Later that day, when the sun’s beginning to set and Lizzie’s fresh out of the shower and in a comfortable sweater and shorts and ready to tackle her homework, there’s a knock on her front door and she sighs, puts her pen down and moves from her place at the kitchen counter to answer it.

When she opens the door, she’s only mildly surprised to see Sebastian standing in front of her, his hands inside his jacket’s pockets as he stands almost uncertain in front of Lizzie.

Lizzie doesn’t think she’s ever seen him look nervous or uncertain in front of her, and a part of her relishes in it. The other part feels like his nervousness is feeding into her own.

This situation is so complicated, and Lizzie wonders for a second if she’s the one overcomplicating things for herself. (Which, yeah, probably.)

“Hello, Elizabeth,” He says after a second, and his tone is uncharacteristically quiet, “Can we talk now?”

Lizzie nods, and just as she begins to sign for him to come in, he turns around and sits on the steps of the front porch. Lizzie smiles slightly at that, a part of her relieved that Sebastian clearly understood she wasn’t comfortable being around him, by herself and in her home, anymore.

They sit together side by side, and Lizzie waits for Sebastian to talk. He’s looking at the car parked in the driveway with a thoughtful expression on his face and says, “I bet you’re secretly relieved you don’t have to drive anymore.”

“Hm?” Lizzie asks, confused, and Sebastian gives her a knowing smile that looks a little sad.

“I know you hate driving,” He says, “I bet you’re happy you have the excuse not to.”

Lizzie understands, then, and nods, “Yeah. I guess I am.”

She hadn’t really thought about that before. But she guesses that’s the truth - she had asked Hope to drive her and Josie to school and back at first just to have an excuse to not drive them herself. If she recalls correctly, that had been an idea coined by Josie, even.

When Lizzie doesn’t say anything else, Sebastian sighs, “Look, I want to say something to you, but I feel weird bringing it up, after… everything,” Lizzie waits, and Sebastian exhales, “I feel like you’ve been ignoring me since…” He trails off, pauses, gulps, and then continues, “since we broke up.”

Lizzie nods, “Well, I have.” 

“And I deserve it. I get it,” Sebastian says, and they’re silent for a moment before he continues. “What I did to you… I deserve way worse than being ignored.”

Lizzie nods, not really having anything to say to that. Sebastian sees this as a sign to continue.

“About the letter you wrote…” He starts, and Lizzie’s lips become a thin line as she tries to not let her anxiety get the best of her. “Did… did you mean what you wrote in the letter?”

Lizzie exhales, “I don’t know. I mean, um, it was a long time ago.”

Sebastian nods, “I’m sorry, I just - please don’t think this is me pressuring you again. I’m just trying to understand.”

Lizzie bites her lip, seeing nothing but honesty in his eyes, and then she says, “There’s just - there’s nothing to understand. Look, it was a mistake. I wrote it a long time ago, before we even… before we even dated. You shouldn’t ever have seen that.” 

“But I did see it,” Sebastian protests softly, “I just - I just want to know what you want me to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” he gulps and takes a deep breath and continues, “I mean I’m trying to do what I was so shit at doing when we were together. I want…” He trails off, clearly not being able to find the words, and then he continues, “Look, can I just be completely honest with you?”

“That would be a first,” Lizzie says before she can help herself. Sebastian lowers his head, ashamed, and Lizzie licks her lips before she says, “Go ahead.”

“I just… I feel like I’m in this weird place right now. Especially when it comes to you. And then the letter… I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” He gives her a sad laugh and then continues, “Look, I loved you, Elizabeth. And I know it was in the wrong way. And I know that I’ve hurt you and I can never forgive myself for it, and I don’t expect you to, either. I wouldn’t. But… I’m trying to do better, and I’m trying… to _be_ better. And, I don’t know, A part of me sort of feels like I'd still be the same guy if I didn’t acknowledge your feelings and pretend I didn’t read what I read. Does that make sense to you?” 

Lizzie understands then. She understands that Sebastian wasn’t in an easy situation on his end, either, and that he was clearly trying to work on working on his own issues. She bites her lip, and she thinks about what she could say. Minutes pass, and Lizzie thinks she’s got it. It’s not a solution by any means, and it’s not exactly helpful, but it’s a start.

“I don’t know if I meant what I wrote,” She speaks up, and Sebastian nods, waiting, “I can’t give you an answer. We’ve been through a lot, and… You broke my heart, Sebastian. You really hurt me. I don’t think I can get past what you’ve done, at least not yet. But I’m glad to see you’re working on being better.”

Sebastian gives her a small smile and then says, “I’m so sorry about what I’ve done to you, Elizabeth.”

Lizzie looks into his eyes and sees nothing but honesty in them. She gives him a small smile and says as she turns towards the street in front of them, “Well, I’m just sorry I have such a terrible taste in men.” 

She hears him chuckling softly beside her and his voice is almost teasing when he says, “Ah, don’t say that about MG. He’s a nice lad.”

Lizzie rolls her eyes. Of course MG would tell people she had a crush on him.

* * *

“So, Hope tells me you’re a Saltzman?” Mrs. Marshall - Hayley, she’d insisted Lizzie called her - says, and Lizzie thinks that she looks like Hope when she smiles. She nods, and the older woman continues, “Are you related to Alaric Saltzman? He used to be a History teacher here, I believe -”

Lizzie opens her mouth to answer her, but before she can, Hope does. She looks at her mother with wide eyes and clears her throat before speaking carefully, “Mom. I told you he’s Lizzie’s…”

“Oh! Oh, right.” She says, embarrassment crossing her face, “I’m so sorry, Lizzie. I totally forgot, it’s been such a long week and -”

“It’s okay,” Lizzie waves her off, giving her a smile, “It happens often. Especially when people notice that my dad is a Salvatore and my mother is a Forbes. It’s really confusing, me and Josie are aware,” She chuckles, “But to answer your question, yes, Alaric was - _is_ my biological father.”

When Lizzie sees the look of curiosity in the other woman’s face - one that was shared in Hope’s face, too, but she was clearly trying to mask it, Lizzie chuckles under her breath and starts to tell her customary tale upon having that subject brought up with people who didn't know her since she was a baby. “Well, um. My father was married to this woman, Josette Laughlin, and she was a doctor and technically our mother. Josie is actually named after her,” Lizzie says, more to Hope than Hayley, and then continues, “They wanted kids, but Jo couldn’t carry a child because of her work, so they looked for a surrogate and found my mom, who was a friend of theirs.” Lizzie paused, knowing that this usually was the part that made people a little uncomfortable, “Then, um… Well, long story short, one day, they were driving in the rain and… well, um, my dad… He wasn’t completely sober. So…” She trails off, hoping they’d get what she meant. She never liked going into complete detail on this. 

“Oh, Lizzie, I’m so sorry, I -” Hope’s mom begins to say, and Lizzie waves her away, all too aware of Hope’s eyes on her.

“It’s okay. Like I said, it’s completely normal for people to be curious.” Lizzie tells her with a small smile. 

Hayley smiles back at her and then she asks, her tone soft, “So, did your mother know she was carrying twins?”

Lizzie chuckles, “Not until well into the pregnancy,” she says, “naturally, my mom decided she was going to keep us and no one really had a problem with it since she was going to be our godmother anyway. And, well, I guess we would always be technically biologically hers. So, sometimes I think it was a bit of work from fate.” Lizzie shrugs. “My step-father, or, well, father, Stefan wouldn’t have met my mom if it weren’t for us all but barging into his office one day when she had to take us to her work trip.” 

Hayley grins, “That’s wonderful. And that’s a wonderful point of view to have towards all of this.” 

Lizzie blushes slightly at that, and she tells herself it’s because she never really thought the way she thought about it all to be positive - sometimes she felt like she didn’t really give it the weight most people would give. It was just something that had happened before she was even born; she wasn’t sure she was expected to feel more than what she already felt. Anyway. She tells herself she’s blushing because of that, but in reality, deep down she knows that she’s blushing because the earnest tone and the smile that Hayley gives her remind her so much of Hope that she’s a bit flustered. 

After that, Hayley excuses herself from the table to go get the dessert, and Hope has this different look in her eyes when she looks at Lizzie.

“What?” Lizzie asks, self-consciously.

Hope shakes her head before saying “nothing,” quietly.

* * *

On the drive back to her home, Hope speaks up, “Hey, I’m sorry about my mom bringing that up. I told her about your family, but -”

“Don’t worry,” Lizzie says quickly, and then she continues, her tone soft and expression thoughtful. “Honestly, you know, it was nice. I mean, what she said about my view on it. I never realized I didn’t think of it like my life was such a big tragedy. It was nice to realize that.”

Hope gives her a thoughtful nod and a soft smile, then, and they’re in comfortable silence before a thought strikes in Lizzie’s mind.

“Hey, Hope?”

“Yeah?”

“Never mind.”

“What?” Hope presses, “Just ask.”

“Okay, just… Is it weird? Not having your dad around.”

Hope licks her lips before she answers, “It’s not as weird as it used to be.”

“Do you see him often?”

“No.” She states simply.

Lizzie nods. “And do you… do you miss him?”

She’s half expecting Hope to snap at her for asking all these questions, so she’s relieved and somewhat surprised when the girl gives it a thought before she answers, “Sometimes. When I walk around the house and see that he’s not in any photos anymore,” she says, and then, “or when I talk to my uncles and my aunt. That’s when I really miss him.”

Hope doesn’t seem like she’s finished, so Lizzie waits, “But then I think about everything that he’s not doing with me, and the things he’s missing out on, like… Like my games, and my birthdays, when I get really good grades… And um, you know, the fact that he’s not there to help me with art and my cameras and everything… And I get so… I get so mad that some days I’m glad that he’s gone.”

Hope shrugs then and glances at Lizzie before glancing back at the road, and Lizzie notices the way that Hope’s knuckles are white, her grip on the steering wheel a little too strong, and she thinks she sees tears welling up in her blue eyes.

“You don’t mean that,” Lizzie states softly, not meaning to anger the other girl. When Hope’s quiet, she continues, “You can be mad at someone and still miss them.”

Hope is quiet for a moment as she focuses on the road ahead of them, and Lizzie notices that her grip on the wheel has lessened somewhat and her posture doesn’t look as stiff. 

“Do you… do you miss them?” Hope asks after a moment. Lizzie glances at her before answering, knowing what she had meant.

“Not really. I mean, it’s complicated,” She says, and Hope waits. “I never really met them. They died before I was even born, so everything I know about them is from stories. I’ve seen videos and pictures of them, obviously, and I know what they sound like, but… It’s weird, because I don’t know them, even though I feel like I do. I know Josie feels the same way. You know, that’s a bit of the reason why we don’t exactly like to drive, because of what happened to them.” Lizzie shakes her head when she finds herself getting lost in thought, “Sometimes I don’t even think about them, and that feels wrong, too. I wonder if they’d like me, what they’d think of me. I wonder if they saw me, would they recognize me? Would they recognize Josie?”

“Of course they would, they’re your parents.”

“No, Caroline and Stefan are our parents,” Lizzie corrects her with a small smile, “She brought us into the world, and she raised us and her and Stefan take care of us and they’re there for us at the end of the day. But I understand what you mean. Sometimes, it’s hard to make the distinction in my head, too.”

Hope is looking at her in silence, and there’s something about the look in her eyes that makes Lizzie say, “I’ve never told anyone that before,” because she feels like she should.

“I mean, in some ways, I think I get it.” Hope says quietly, and Lizzie thinks that Hope’s never really talked about this with anyone else, either. “I don’t actually hate my dad.”

The tone in her voice makes Lizzie smile, “I know.”

They’re quiet again, and it’s comfortable and it’s -

“It’s actually really nice having someone to talk to about this stuff that isn’t just Josie,” Lizzie says, and Hope nods silently, as if agreeing, “You’re a good listener.”

Hope gives her one of those teasing smiles, but it’s soft and nice at the same time and the glint in her eyes is something that she hasn’t seen before as she says, “Yeah? Why, thank you.”

Lizzie chuckles and they smile at each other, and then, “You are too. And, you know, I’m totally happy to drive you guys around. You, specially.”

“Thanks,” Lizzie smiles.

“You’re welcome.”

And then they’re silent again, and Lizzie notices that Hope had stopped the car minutes ago and they’re now in her driveway. She smiles.

Right before Lizzie gets out of the car, Hope says, “I can tell that my mom liked you,” and something about her tone and the look in her eyes combined with the statement makes Lizzie feel warm inside.

* * *

Being with Hope was so easy that sometimes she let herself pretend it wasn’t fake.

* * *

Hope comes into her house one afternoon after dropping the twins off so her and Lizzie could finally have their double feature of Sixteen Candles and Fight Club, and Josie had quickly decided that she was going to tag along even if she hadn’t exactly been invited. And before they could even start the movie, her father arrives home with Pedro, announcing that he would wait for Bonnie to get off work at theirs, and Pedro quickly decides he’ll be part of it as well. Lizzie doesn’t protest because she thinks that Josie and Pedro just missed spending time with her. After the whole thing with Hope had started, Lizzie spent a lot of the time that she usually spent with the two with the auburn haired girl, and she knew that her sister was too nice to say anything about it. 

So, she sits down on the couch and smiles when Josie sits next to her, and Pedro quickly climbs on her lap like an oversized teddy-bear and giggles when Lizzie and Josie tickle him.

Pedro becomes too preoccupied with the popcorn that Josie makes for them to really pay attention to the movie, and Josie is watching it silently the same way as Lizzie. Hope, on the other hand, is sharing the popcorn with Pedro from where she sits to the blonde’s right with a bored look on her face as she watches the TV screen. 

“Seriously, you like this movie?” Hope asks her midway through it, and Lizzie sighs. This is the tenth time Hope had asked the same question.

“Yes, Hope, I do. Now be quiet.”

Hope hums, and she’s quiet for another moment as the scene unfolds and then she speaks up again, “Sorry, but… Seriously? Why do you like this movie?”

“Oh my God, she _already_ said it’s because it’s a classic!” Pedro answers, clearly having lost his patience. Lizzie and Josie laugh when Hope sends an offended look towards the young boy.

“Hey, little man, what’s with the attitude? I thought we were friends,” Hope says, mock offended, and Pedro giggles.

“You’re being annoying,” He says honestly, and the twins watch in amusement as Hope gasps and grabs one of the throw pillows beside her. Lizzie knows what’s about to happen before Hope even says anything. She thinks Pedro does too, because he quickly hides between the twins and covers his face with his small hands before Hope even shouts “incoming!” and throws the pillow at him.

Pedro giggles when the pillow hits his shoulder softly, and his brown eyes shine in mischief as he grabs one of the pillows next to Josie and moves so he’s sitting on Lizzie’s lap again and begins to hit Hope repeatedly with it, the auburn haired girl grunting and laughing and trying to defend herself from the little boy’s attack.

Lizzie smiles softly as she watches them tire each other out with their pillow fight, and Josie laughs when Pedro throws himself at Hope instead of continuing his attack with the pillow, and Lizzie chuckles when the sound of Pedro’s giggles at being tickled by Hope become hysterical.

And then Lizzie’s smile dissipates when a sudden thought hits her. She bites her lip when she realizes that maybe Pedro shouldn’t be getting too attached to Hope. This was temporary. The way Pedro looks at Hope, so adoringly, like the older girl is clearly becoming one of his favorite people in the world… it’d break Lizzie’s heart to take that away from him. She can’t have that happen. 

So, later that day, when Hope absolutely has to leave, Lizzie walks with her to her car. And before Hope gets in, she says, “I don’t think you should come over anymore. At least not when Pedro is here.”

Hope frowns, and Lizzie can’t help but notice that she looks hurt as she says, “Why not?”

“Because when our… when our thing is over, he’s going to miss you.”

Hope nods, and she thinks for a moment as she glances back at Lizzie’s house from over the blonde’s shoulder. There’s something about her expression that Lizzie can’t quite read, and the blonde finds that there have been a lot of moments like these lately.

“I’ll still see him around,” Hope says finally, and then, “I want joint custody.”

And then suddenly all Lizzie can think about is how patient Hope is with Pedro, how sweet. She thinks about how much Hope makes him laugh, and about how much Pedro makes Hope laugh - and she can’t really help herself by how she reacts. On impulse, she leans down slightly and pecks Hope’s cheek, and the other girl jerks back in surprise.

“What was that for?” She asks, and there’s a little smile playing at the corner of her lips. Her cheeks look a little flushed, too.

Lizzie’s cheeks are flushed as well when she answers, “For being so nice to Pedro.”

Hope nods, and then Lizzie waves her goodbye quickly and rushes back inside her house, missing it when Hope grins and takes her hand to her cheek before getting into her car.

* * *

At dinner one night, Lizzie gets a text from Hope. The girl is telling her she’d be a few minutes late tomorrow to pick them up for school because she has to drive her mother to work, and Stefan speaks up.

“Lizzie, you know the rules. No phones at the table,” The tone in his voice is teasing, but Lizzie knows enough to know that he means it.

She puts her phone face-down beside her plate and says, “Sorry.”

Josie grins and turns to him and says, “I bet it was a text from Hope.”

“Hope?” Caroline asks curiously from the laptop at the end of the table, using one of the few moments she had free from work to Skype with the family over dinner. “Who’s Hope?” 

“Lizzie’s gir-”

“Friend. My friend.” Lizzie sends a warning look to Josie, and the brunette twin frowns at her confusedly. She had forgotten to ask Josie to not mention anything about Hope and her being girlfriends to her parents. She needed to remember to do that later.

Their parents don’t seem to notice the slip-up or the exchange, and if they do it doesn’t show. Stefan’s piercing a cherry-tomato from his plate as he says, “I like Hope.”

“You do?” Lizzie asks.

Her dad nods, “She’s a good kid. I hear she’s an excellent quarterback.” 

“You do?” Lizzie repeats, and he nods and then turns his eyes to the computer, his next words directed to his wife.

“Hope is Klaus’ daughter. Remember?” 

Caroline’s eyes widen and she nods, “Oh! Oh, yes, I remember Hope. Poor dear, I remember when Klaus left them a few years ago, it was so hard on them.” Her mother spoke in a tone of someone who had her own thoughts on the man herself and Stefan seemed to share the feeling, “How are they doing, Lizzie?” She looks at her daughter curiously.

“Um, they’re fine,” Lizzie says, and then she licks her lips, “They’ve adjusted.”

“Oh, that’s so good to hear,” Caroline says, in a tone of earnestness that only really Caroline Forbes had, and it makes Lizzie smile.

“And Hope seems to be really taken with you, Lizzie,” Stefan says just when Lizzie’s about to change the subject. Her mother raises a pixelated and curious eyebrow to her daughter. 

“Taken with me?” Lizzie blinks.

“Why do you keep repeating everything he says?” Josie asks, and then she turns to their father, “She totally likes Lizzie. It’s kind of gross, actually. You should see it, she’s _always_ looking at Lizzie. Like, the other day right? Hope drove us to the store after school because I needed some school supplies, and Hope kept looking at Lizzie the whole time to see if Lizzie was having a good time.”

Their parents smile softly at that, and Lizzie finds herself mirroring their smiles as she feels warmth starting to spread on her chest.

“She did?” She asks.

Josie rolls her eyes, “Seriously, what’s up with you and repeating things today? You sound like a parrot.”

“Do I?”

Josie groans and their parents laugh.

* * *

They announce that Mystic Falls High is hosting a Summer Camp meet-up with the High School students from their school and the neighboring towns interested in becoming mentors that weekend one day during the morning announcements, and Lizzie gets an idea that doesn’t leave her mind until lunch. 

Rafael Waithe went to Summer Camp with her. Lizzie wonders if he would be at the meet-up.

She brings it up to Hope during lunch, before any of their friends sit down with them. 

They’re the only ones at the table, and Hope is playing with Lizzie’s fingers absentmindedly when Lizzie asks, “Do you know if Rafael Waithe still lives in Richmond?” 

It’s a long-shot, she knows, but she’s curious and she knows that Hope’s best friend, Landon, was really close to the other boy. And, she would be lying if a little part of her didn’t want to know what Hope’s reaction to that would be. 

The red haired girl gives her a funny look, “How would I know?”

“I don’t know. I was just wondering if you did.”

“Why?” Hope asks, and Lizzie notices that she hasn’t let go of her hand yet. Hope has been doing that a lot lately - playing with her fingers, or holding her hand, and some days she’ll give Lizzie two notes instead of one. Not that that’s directly correlated to the hand thing, but.

Lizzie hasn’t exactly paid much attention to the notes, to be honest. Sometimes she’ll even forget she has them on her until she mistakes the pieces of folded paper in her pockets for loose money, and she’ll just throw them in the trash bin in her room without a second thought. She doesn’t mention it to Hope, though, because for some reason she thinks the girl would be hurt by that. But then again, this whole notes thing was just a thing Hope had come up with to piss Alyssa off in the first place, so it’s not like they meant something real.

However, whenever Hope asks her if she’s read her notes, Lizzie lies and tells hers that she did.

“I think maybe I’m going to the Summer Camp meetup this weekend. I don’t really plan on being a mentor but I have a feeling that he’ll be there.” She says, finally.

“For real?” Hope asks, “If he is, what are you gonna do?”

Hope sounds genuinely curious, so Lizzie shrugs once with one shoulder, “I don’t know. Haven’t really thought that far into it. Maybe I’ll go up to him, maybe not. I just wanna see how he turned out.”

“We can look him up online right now if you want,” Hope offers, beginning to reach for her phone in her pocket, “I think we follow each other on Instagram because of Landon.”

Lizzie shakes her head, “That would be cheating. I’ve managed to avoid seeing him on social media for so long, I want to see him with my own eyes. I wanna be surprised.”

Hope makes a noise, “Well, don’t ask me to come with you to keep you company. There’s no fucking way I’m wasting an entire Saturday morning on a Summer Camp meetup.”

“I wasn’t really planning on asking you to come with me.”

Hope looks actually hurt by that. “Why not?”

“I just wanna do this by myself.”

There’s something in Hope’s eyes when she says, “Wow, and the body isn’t even cold yet.”

“Huh?” 

“You’re a player, Saltzman,” Hope says, and those words bring memories to Lizzie’s mind. She wonders if Hope had done that on purpose. She had said those same words to her a while back, but this time the smirk on her face didn’t look as teasing as it had that day. “We’re not even broken up and you already wanna talk to other people. I would be hurt if I wasn’t so impressed.”

That makes Lizzie roll her eyes and smile, and that’s how their friends find them a few seconds later. Kaleb and MG ask Lizzie to settle a debate for them with her opinion as Landon and Josie pick sides, and Lizzie’s so amused by their antics that she doesn’t notice it when Hope spends the entire lunch time watching her with a weird look on her face. 

* * *

Saturday morning comes quickly, and Lizzie finds herself walking into her school going over what she’s going to say in case she sees Rafael again. Should she keep it casual? Should she sound excited? Maybe like she doesn’t care? It’s been a few years since she’s seen Rafael. What if he doesn’t recognize her?

Lizzie scans the gym for Rafael and finds that this might be a little harder than she had thought. There were more people here than she expected. There’s a podium and an old guy with a camp t-shirt is making a speech about something Lizzie doesn’t really care about. She slips to the back of the gym and manages to walk up the steps of the bleachers in the corner. She crosses her arms and looks for Rafael.

There are so many people in the room, and everyone’s facing the podium, so it makes her job a little harder. She doesn’t really pay attention to the other people spread out sitting on the bleachers as well until a guy that’s sitting next to where she’s standing looks up and asks, “Are you looking for someone?”

“Um…” Lizzie begins to say as she turns her head in the direction of the voice, and then she almost gasps. 

Rafael Waithe looks very different from what he used to look like back then. His hair is buzzed, his skin is tanned and he looks buff. Gone are the skinny arms and torso from the awkward pre-teen years, and now before her was clearly a much grown version of Rafael. He looks good, but Lizzie finds that a tiny voice in her head is telling her that he looks like he’s way too tall, now, for whatever reason.

When Lizzie turns to him fully, he does a double take. “Lizzie?”

“Hi,” Lizzie practically whispers, her hands sweating all of a sudden. There’s recognition in Rafael’s eyes, and Lizzie wasn’t expecting that.

“Hey,” Rafael smiles, and Lizzie thinks that if it wasn’t for H - _if it wasn’t for her current situation,_ there would be butterflies in her stomach at that. “Are you gonna sign up?”

“Huh? Oh, no, I don’t think so,” Lizzie shakes her head quickly, her tone nervous. Rafael frowns, but his smile doesn’t leave his face, as if he was silently wondering what Lizzie was doing here, then. “Um, Josie wanted me to… come here and… Uh, check it out. For her.” 

“Right,” Rafael nods slowly, and then he chuckles, “Well, that’s too bad. I think Lan is gonna sign up, but he’s late, as usual.” 

Lizzie smiles, “Well, yeah, I’m sure he’s on his way out of his bed right now.”

“Y’all are friends?” 

“Um, sorta? Landon’s my… uh, girlfriend’s best friend.” Lizzie clarifies, the word sounding a bit too much to her own ears at the moment. Rafael raises an eyebrow.

“Oh, shoot, you’re Hope’s new girl? Landon told me she was seeing someone new after that shit-show with Alyssa.” He gives her a teasing smile and Lizzie flushes at being called Hope’s girl.

“Yep, yeah, that’s me,” Lizzie nods a few times, giving him a nervous smile, and Rafael only smiles. They’re quiet for a moment before Lizzie speaks up when she sees the unmistakable sign of floppy curly hair walking into the gym, “Uh, I have to - I gotta go. It was nice seeing you.”

Lizzie doesn’t wait for Rafael to reply before she’s hurrying away and out of the gym from the opposite door that Landon was coming in from, her heart pounding in her ears. She thinks she hears Rafael saying bye, but she doesn’t slow down.

She steps right out of the double doors and into the sunlight, and takes a deep breath. 

So. She’d just seen Rafael. After all those years, she saw him again. And Rafael knew her. Right away, he knew who she was. Lizzie wonders what would’ve been of this accidental (as far as he knew) meeting between them if he had gotten her letter.

(And then, not for the second or fourth or twentieth time, she wonders who the hell sent those out in the first place.)

Lizzie gets a text from Hope almost an hour later, and she opens it to see that the blonde was asking her if she’d seen Rafael yet. She’s at home now, and she types back _yes, I did_ , before she hesitates and deletes it before she hits send. She types _no, I didn’t,_ and she’s not sure why she does it. She thinks she wants to keep this to herself, be happy just knowing that Rafael remembered her, and have that be enough. 

And a small part of her forgets that Rafael was Landon’s best friend. Forgets that he might mention seeing her to the other boy. Doesn’t know that Hope had plans to meet the guys for lunch later. 

The bigger part of her, though, can’t stop thinking about how Rafael smiled in a different way, about how Rafael’s eyes were brown and his voice was deeper, the sound so different from - well. From small, earnest smiles that warmed Lizzie’s insides up when they were directed at her, from ocean eyes and a soft voice that Lizzie swore she could hear in her dreams.

(She hits send before she even notices it.) 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments make me happy! see yall on the next update <3

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think!! don't forget to comment, it def helps me find the energy to keep writing lmao
> 
> see u next chapter! & if u need anything find me @ sofiascarson on tumblr:)


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